Minnesota Lynx have announced their top player, Napheesa Collier, has been ruled out for the WNBA semifinals Game 4 against the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena on Sunday, Sept. 28.
Collier injured her left ankle after a steal by the Mercury’s All-Star Alyssa Thomas and a collision with her late in Game 3. The Mercury had an 84-76 win at home to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
The MVP runner-up had 17 points in Game 3. Collier was also the league’s second-leading scorer during the regular season (22.9 points per game). She also finished this regular season as the second player in league history with 50/40/90 shooting splits. But Collier is the first to have that rare mark of scoring at least 20 points per game.
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The odds continue to be stacked against the playoffs’ No. 1 seed Lynx entering Game 4.
The No. 4 Mercury gained home court advantage with their Game 2 comeback victory at Minnesota on Sept. 24 and are one win away from the WNBA Finals.
In addition, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was suspended by the league for her “conduct and comments” regarding the officiating during and after Game 3, in which she was ejected for two technical fouls. Reeve received the second tech at 21 seconds left in the game after Collier was injured in the collision with Thomas and didn’t return to the game.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lynx’s Napheesa Collier out for Game 4 vs Mercury in WNBA semifinals
