No. 6 Indiana is facing a tough road, setting a WNBA playoffs date with No. 3 Las Vegas after Thursday’s 86-66 blowout loss to No. 1 Minnesota.
Only guard Kelsey Mitchell reached double-digit scoring for the Fever, while Lynx guard Kayla McBride smoked Indiana’s defense with six 3-pointers.
“We kinda came out and got punched in the mouth,” said Caitlin Clark, after being held to a career-low two points. “We have to have the mentality in the playoffs of… one game at a time.”
The Fever now shifts focus to the reigning champion Aces. Las Vegas carries a seven-game winning streak into the best-of-three first round.
The Aces capped their regular season with a 100-82 win over No. 10 Phoenix, as four-time MVP A’ja Wilson readies another deep WNBA playoffs run.
“Obviously [Indiana] has a high-powered offense,” said Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon. “But coming in, we know that defense is a game-changer.”
Las Vegas hosts Indiana on Sunday at 4 PM ET (ABC).
