Napheesa Collier scored nine of her 26 points in the third quarter, and Bridget Carleton made three 3-pointers in the last four minutes, leading the Minnesota Lynx to a 99-88 win over the Indiana Fever on Friday night.
This victory ended Indiana’s five-game winning streak, despite Caitlin Clark scoring 25 points for the Fever.
The Lynx were behind 50-45 at halftime but Collier helped them take the lead with nine points in the third quarter, bringing the score to 65-57. Collier blocked Clark’s shot in the paint, and Courtney Williams made a jumper from the free-throw line, pushing Minnesota’s lead to 70-60.
Clark then went to the bench, and Myisha Hines-Allen added three more points to extend the lead to 13.
Indiana struggled in the third quarter, making only three field goals, but managed to hit three more in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to close the gap. The Fever came within 81-80, but Carleton hit a 3-pointer from the corner, followed by another from the top of the key to make it 87-80.
She also grabbed an offensive rebound, leading to Williams’ 3-pointer. Carleton’s third 3-pointer in the final quarter gave the Lynx a 96-85 lead.
Clark, who had a triple-double on Wednesday, continued her strong season for Indiana (18-17). She made a 3-pointer in the first quarter to become the franchise leader for most 3-pointers in a single season, surpassing Kelsey Mitchell (102).
Clark ended the game with 107 3-pointers for the season, shooting 5 of 10 from beyond the arc.
Mitchell added 23 points and Aliyah Boston scored 20 for Indiana. Mitchell has scored more than 20 points in eight of her last nine games.
Carleton finished with 16 points for Minnesota (25-9), while Williams contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, reaching over 1,500 rebounds for her career. Collier also had 10 rebounds.
Carleton ended the first half with a 3-pointer off a pass from Hines-Allen, and the Lynx scored the first nine points of the third quarter to lead 52-50, their first lead since 7-6.
