INDIANAPOLIS – For the Indiana Fever, the third quarter was the difference between a win and a loss versus the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Friday night.
Indiana had control of the game throughout the first half; the Fever led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter as they made nine of their first 12 3-point attempts. But Minnesota, the only team so far this season that has clinched a playoff berth, obviously wasn’t going to go away quietly.
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The Lynx chipped away at the Fever’s lead throughout the second quarter, bringing their deficit down to two by halftime.
And the third quarter is when they struck.
Minnesota started the third quarter on a 9-2 run, forcing Fever coach Stephanie White to take an early timeout. But that didn’t stop the best team in the league.
The Lynx took advantage of the Fever’s defensive miscues in the third quarter, as they frequently confused the Indiana defense for wide open layups. Minnesota went 7-for-7 in the paint in the third quarter, and those 14 points were still just a small portion of the 32 total points it scored in the first 10 minutes after halftime.
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“I think just tightening up those little things,” Fever guard Lexie Hull said. “Something Steph said postgame was that there was a 26-9 run in a matter of a few minutes. It’s making those runs smaller and shorter for us. That first half, I mean, they got some kick out 3s, things that we can control, just getting on the glass, boxing out, a little bit more effort, a little bit more focus, a little bit more locked in on our schemes. But we’re right there.”
Those lapses, those lulls from Indiana put Minnesota back in control of the game, and the Lynx kept it that way for a 95-90 win.
“We just feel like we have, like, small lulls,” Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said. “If we could just, like, take out the small points in which great teams capitalize off of, we will put ourselves in a great position. I felt like the offensive rebounds compared to the defensive rebounds and the ones we miss, you know, it’s like small stuff, it’s frustrating.”
Third quarter lulls have been plaguing the Fever all season, dating back to their first West Coast road trip in June.
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Indiana led Golden State by 13 points in the third quarter during a trip to San Francisco, and that turned into an 11-point loss. A 10-point third quarter lead against Las Vegas turned into a 10-point loss on that same road trip.
It happened again following the All-Star break, when the Liberty went on a 23-9 run throughout the third quarter in New York to flip the game sideways, turning into a 14-point loss for the Fever.
It’s something that continues to happen, again and again. It’s something Indiana can’t seem to stop, sullying opportunities for big wins against the best teams in the league.
“Some of it’s timeouts, some of it’s substitution matchups, although we don’t have a lot of those,” White said “And some of it’s just attention to detail. I mean, championship teams, their attention to detail throughout the course of 40 minutes is there, for the most part. And we’re learning how to do that with a group that, you know, hasn’t had a ton of experience.”
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Of course, there have been factors beyond the Fever’s control. Caitlin Clark has been out since July 16 with a right groin injury with no timetable for return, and three players went down with season-ending injuries in the course of 10 days — Sydney Colson (left ACL) and Aari McDonald (right foot) suffered their injuries on Aug. 7, while Sophie Cunningham (left MCL) suffered hers on Aug. 17.
Chloe Bibby, who signed with the Fever in late July, was also a late addition to the injury report Friday night with a left knee injury, leaving the Fever with one wing in Hull (who played 38 minutes). Then, Odyssey Sims, who joined the Fever on a hardship contract because of those injuries, tweaked something with about eight minutes left in the game, calling for a sub and limping off the floor. She eventually returned to the bench, but did not check back into the game.
So, Shey Peddy, who signed with the Fever on Tuesday and had just two practices before taking the floor for the first time, was Indiana’s main option at point.
That’s not to excuse the Fever’s lack of attention to detail in these defensive meltdowns, but it shows a team that is still constantly having to shift because of injuries. Integrating new players on hardship contracts, too, is a process that takes more time than they’re allowed.
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But the league, especially as the regular season is wrapping up, doesn’t wait for anyone.
“We’re doing it with two new point guards. So, I mean, there’s cohesiveness, there’s Shey and Odyssey. Shey has now been in (two practices), Odyssey has been in two or three practices to learn our defensive system and kind of how we play some things,” White said. “So, you know, we’ve got to give some grace to where we are, but also understand that that’s what it takes to win against these kinds of teams.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fever vs Lynx: Indiana can stop Minnesota second-half runs in loss
