And then there were four.
The quartet of teams left vying for the 2025 WNBA title played on Sunday, and the games’ entertainment value matched their importance.
First, we had the No. 6-seed Indiana Fever yet again shocking the world by defeating the No. 2-seed Las Vegas Aces 89-73 on the road. The Aces have been one of the hottest teams in the league and their biggest star, A’ja Wilson, was celebrated earlier in the day by being crowned the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player for a record fourth time.
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Despite that elation and Las Vegas never having lost to Indiana at home, the Fever were able to take control of the series by earning the road win thanks to another stupendous Kelsey Mitchell performance.
The Indiana guard ended the night with 34 points while going 4-for-6 from 3-point range. She made essentially all the deep field goals for Indiana, as Lexie Hull was the only other Fever player who converted a jumper from beyond the arc; she had a grand total of one.
Early in these playoffs, the No. 1-seed Minnesota Lynx have let opposing team stay in games for far too long. That bad tendency manifested in the first round and again on Sunday. However, just like they did in the first round, they took care of business here in Game 1 of the semifinals, beating the No. 4-seed Phoenix Mercury 82-69.
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The Lynx were utterly dominant in the final period, outscoring the Mercury 23-10 to come out on top. The Minnesota backcourt came to play in Game 1. Courtney Williams led the charge with 23 points, and Kayla McBride had 21 in the win. The Lynx are the only team remaining that has yet to lose this postseason.
There are many storylines and key takeaways one can bring up after another Fever upset and a Lynx win, but here are three that will continue to impact these series:
1. Kelsey Mitchell is inevitable
How does a team lose Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham and Aari McDonald and still upset a higher seed in the first round and take homecourt from another top seed in the semis? By having Mitchell as their starting guard.
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The Fever will go as far as Mitchell takes them, and so far, that means advancing further than they have in over a decade. Mitchell was relentlessly aggressive in Game 3 against the Dream, scoring 23 points to help upset Atlanta, and her encore in Game 1 was even more impressive. She was bullying the Aces’ perimeter defenders, converting from deep and attacking the paint, getting to her spots with little resistance.
Las Vegas will have to find a way to give Mitchell some trouble because right now, she’s playing the best basketball of her career. If she keeps this up, she’ll punch her team a ticket to the WNBA Finals.
While some may view Aliyah Boston as the current best player available on the Fever, the correct answer is Mitchell. Mainly because Micthell, unlike Boston, doesn’t need help getting the ball. She’s on the perimeter and doesn’t have to rely on teammates to look for her to gain possession or get a look. Also, Boston has her hands full as the primary defender on Wilson. So, this just might not be the series where she can be as impactful as an offensive option.
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For now, Indiana has to dance with the one that brought them here and that’s Mitchell. So far, her taking the lead has led to some incredible waltzes.
2. You have to be nearly perfect to beat the Lynx
The Lynx-Mercury game was all tied up at 59 entering the fourth quarter. Then, Minnesota decided it was enough of that.
Bridget Carleton made a jumper, McBride knocked down a 3 and after a Williams make, Minnesota was up by four. Then, midway through the quarter, the Lynx went on a 12-0 run to close the door on any hopes of a Mercury upset.
Minnesota’s defense was suffocating in the final 10 minutes. Phoenix shot a putrid 17 percent from the field while getting outrebounded and committing three turnovers in the fourth.
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The Lynx are not a perfect team, but they have been head and shoulders above the rest of the league since the beginning of this season. If you want to beat them, you need to play 40 complete minutes of your best basketball. If not, you’ll be thinking about a possession here and a play there, but the truth is, you were nowhere near actually beating them.
3. Don’t overreact
The Lynx looked unbeatable, and the Fever seem like a Cinderella story in the making. However, this is a best-of-five series, not a best-of-one.
When you think you have it all figured out, the basketball Gods tend to chuckle and reveal the truth. Teams will adjust, players will not replicate these performances to a tee and more than likely, we are in store for two tough, long semifinal series.
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So, instead of declaring the team that was able to take a piece off the chessboard as the winner, let’s observe and adjust, letting Game 2 play out. In the first round, three of the four teams that lost Game 1 went on to win Game 2. Let’s see if the Mercury and Aces can bring that kind of energy on Tuesday.
