Minnesota’s gritty Game 4 performance pushes Finals to decisive Game 5

The privilege to play together for as long as possible was something Napheesa Collier spoke about after the last time the Lynx won an elimination game in these playoffs.

“We want to keep playing because we want to stay together,” Collier said after Minnesota’s Game 5 win against the Connecticut Sun in the semifinals. “You know every year that it looks different. This team will never be the exact same again. Not only do we want to win a championship, but we don’t want to leave each other yet, and that’s a great feeling. It is really gratifying to be here, but we have a lot of work to do yet, and it feels good. I think we’re enjoying the ride.”

This time, Minnesota was the only team fighting against elimination and what ensued was the most tightly contested game so far in the series. The Lynx and Liberty combined for 14 lead changes, 13 ties, with no team ever leading by more than six, and Minnesota clinging to a two-point advantage by the time the music stopped. 

The series is going to a decisive Game 5 because both teams have won two games in the most literal of senses, but it’s also going to a Game 5 because it would be wrong for the curtain to close on this season any earlier than it has to. Forty more minutes is only right. 

“Anybody that has been following along knows this team, from the beginning of the season all the way through to Game 4, has this unique ability to believe in themselves and believe in each other,” head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said. “What we said before the game, ‘can we do it in the toughest of times?’ Because this will be the most that we are tested in that way. We talked about it in shoot around. This will be the most this group has been tested.

“I was sure we would connect and compete. Not sure whether you’re going to win the game or not. But I was sure that we were going to be the Minnesota Lynx and how we have done things all season long. You know, the ups and downs and all of that, this group is just equipped to handle it. It’s special.”

Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine

Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.

BC wins it at the line

Per most Lynx victories in 2024, the cast of characters holds no shortage of heroes. Collier played all 40 minutes and added 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals, to her historic postseason tally. Her highest scoring postseason in league history is now at 263 and counting with one more game to add to her total. 

If Bridget Carleton isn’t one of the main local folk heroes in this one, then surely the ice in her veins is. Not only did Carleton bury the final free throws of the game to break an 80-all tie with 2.0 seconds remaining, she also hit two in the waning seconds of the 3rd quarter that gave Minnesota a one-point lead heading into the final quarter. In total, Carleton shot a perfect 4-of-4 when the shots counted for one, 1-of-1 when they counted for two, and 2-of-5 when they counted for three, for a total of 12 points and the Lynx needed every single one of them. 

“I feel like Bridget is just so reliable every time,” Collier said during the postgame press conference. “We can bank on her to make those hustle plays and to be cool and collected at the end to make those free throws. That’s the hardest shot, honestly, in basketball, is to make free throws at the end of the game. To make those at the line at the big moment is who BC is.”

New York possessed the ball with a chance to take the lead in the final minute, but the Lynx turned in one of their finest defensive possessions of the series and forced a shot-clock violation with 18.3 seconds remaining. 

“Courtney got a shot off, that’s what we wanted,” Carleton said after the game. “She missed it perfectly for me. We talked about it after. She was like “all I knew was get it high, get it off the rim,” she wanted to make it of course, but get it high for a chance to rebound, and that’s what I was able to do.”

Sabrina Ionescu got whistled for the foul on Carleton’s putback attempt. Carleton, who had converted 16-of-17 previous free throws in the 2024 playoffs, calmly stepped to the line and delivered the final two points of the game. 

“I was pretty confident,” Carleton said. “Luckily I had just been to the free throw line … I’m a confident free throw shooter and I just saw a three go down too, so I was feeling good.”

Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?

Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.

Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.

Another undeniable force for the Lynx on this night was Kayla McBride. Minnesota’s co-captain and all-star scored 19 points in the Game 3 heartbreaker on Wednesday, and played the defense on Ionescu’s deflating 28-foot 3-pointer that made the difference for the Liberty. In Game 4, McBride scored 19 again, fueled the early offense, and played a pivotal role in Minnesota not allowing Ionescu or Breanna Stewart to convert on any of their nine attempts from three-point range. 

“I wanted to come out and enjoy the moment and be as aggressive as possible,” McBride said. “When you’re playing for your season, after the last game you sit with everything, and you erase it and you want to leave all those internal feelings and put it out there and embrace the crowd. I just wanted to be out there with my teammates and give it everything we had. Shots go in, they don’t go in, whatever. There are always things you can fix. But I was just excited to be out there and compete again after the last game. Shots were falling. That’s always a good thing.”

Smith’s grit

A question on everyone’s mind in the WNBA universe entering Game 4 was the health and availability of Alanna Smith. Smith played tough defense all season long as an undersized center, drawing matchups against bigger bigs than her on a nightly basis, and played her way onto the WNBA’s All-Defensive Second-Team. A lower-back injury forced her off the court for just over 20 minutes of Game 3 and the Lynx had a hard time defending the post without her. In the 19:51 she was on the court in Game 3, Minnesota was a +20. In the 20:09 she wasn’t, a -23. 

“The plan is to play,” Smith said to the media the day after Game 3. “It’s not every day you’re in the WNBA Finals, so just going to push through whatever it is.” 

Smith scored 12 points in just over 30 gritty minutes in Game 4. She converted both of her attempts from beyond the arc, added seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Jonquel Jones still went off for 21 points and eight rebounds, but did most of her damage away from the basket, hitting 4-of-5 three-point attempts. 

“Once the adrenaline started running, you kind of have to figure out all the aches and pains that you’re feeling, especially when you’re playing in a game that’s so competitive and so tight, there’s no space for anything else but being locked in and being ready,” Smith said after the game. “I’m happy that my teammates and my coaches had that confidence in me, that I was able to push through and do it. That helped me pull it over the line.” 

If her lower back was still bothering her, Smith didn’t show it. The Australian ran up and down the floor all night, hitting the deck after every loose ball in the way Lynx fans have gotten accustomed to seeing from her in 2024. She also provided a half an hour’s worth of her all-defense caliber defending without fouling, getting tagged with just one foul after struggling with foul trouble in addition to the injury in Game 4. 

“It’s the WNBA Finals,” Smith said. “Everybody wants to be here. This is probably the biggest moment of my career besides maybe the Olympics. I was saying to Cheryl and to my teammates, I’d be crawling before I have to get off the court. You just have to push through this. This is a massive moment and I want to be out there.”

Smith and the rest of the Lynx have one more opportunity to be out there on Sunday night in Brooklyn. A one-game season to cap off what’s been a historical season on so many levels. The two best teams in the league meeting for one more game to crown a champion after a season-long chase. Now that’s a storybook ending. 

The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom

The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.