When Napheesa Collier delivered 34 points with four rebounds in the season opener, she proved why 67% of GMs voted her as the top MVP choice this season. But her dominance alone won’t be enough to snatch the title from three-time MVP A’ja Wilson—team records carry weight, too. So far, Collier has been sailing smoothly with the Lynx at 3-0, but keeping up the streak was never going to be easy. That became evident in Game 4, when the Lynx were on the losing end until the third quarter. But then… Cheryl Reeve played her ace and turned the game around!

When the Sun entered the Lynx’s home court, they were determined to make an impact—and they did. From the moment they buried the first bucket, they kept up with the domination. There was no looking back until late in the fourth quarter. Despite all efforts from Collier and her teammates, the lead the Sun had stretched felt impossible to overcome.

It was 19–15 in the first quarter, rose to 45–35 by halftime, and in the final quarter, peaked at 68-53. Cheryl Reeve knew she had to halt the momentum—and fast. From Jessica Shepard’s two-foot layups to Collier calmly sinking her free throws, the Lynx clawed their way back. But even after all that, the score was still 56–49 heading into the fourth. That’s when everything changed.

In the final quarter, the Lynx turned up the heat, scoring 27 points to seal the win and extend their streak to 4–0. But if you ask the head coach, she’ll tell you it wasn’t just Collier’s brilliance—it was the X-factor that helped her shine.

“And, you know, if you’ve been watching Jess this season or any time you watch Jess Shepard, she’s going to rebound the basketball. Her toughness and her level of compete is really high. And that’s exactly what this team needed today,” said Coach Reeve about Jessica Shepard.

And she’s right. After Collier, it was Shepard leading the charge with six rebounds and 13 points in just 25 minutes. Coming off the bench, she brought the depth the Lynx needed in the moment. She went 5-for-8 from the field and added four assists to round out her performance.

Still, while Shepard impressed everyone, there was an underlying issue that both Reeve and Collier agreed on.

“We need to get deflections, we need to get kills… But like Coach said, that’s something we need to do the whole game—not just when we’re getting desperate at the end,” shared the All-Star.

That criticism is fair, especially considering how much of the team’s effort was concentrated in the fourth quarter. Of Collier’s game-high 33 points, 12 came in that final period alone. Now at 4–0, the Lynx sit atop the W standings.

Napheesa Collier & Co. move ahead with ‘fire under them all’ 

Last year, Reeve and the Lynx gave it their all but were knocked out in the finals by a 67–62 loss to the New York Liberty. “This s— was stolen from us,” Reeve said at the time, highlighting the disparity in free throw attempts—Liberty shot 25, while the Lynx had only 8.

Coming into this season, the head coach is hungrier for a win than ever before. “Coach Cheryl always tells us to treat every game like it’s a playoff game, because it’s that important,” Alissa Pili shared after the Lynx’s win over LA. “And being that close last year—feeling how it felt to get that close and not achieve the championship—I think it put a fire under all of us.”

That fire has been matched by calculated roster moves aimed at bolstering depth and versatility. The Lynx acquired Karlie Samuelson from the Washington Mystics to add perimeter shooting and defensive capabilities. They also re-signed Natisha Hiedeman to provide stability and experience in the backcourt.

The additions complement the existing core and address previous gaps in the roster—and it’s already showing. Most notably, they overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Connecticut Sun 76–70, closing the game on a dominant 23–2 run. But can they keep improving?