The Lynx stepped onto the court for Game 4 against the Mercury without their star player, Napheesa Collier and HC Cheryl Reeve, and the impact was clear—they are out of the playoffs. Alyssa Thomas led the way with 23 points, and DeWanna Bonner hit two clutch 3-pointers late in the game as the Phoenix Mercury erased a 13-point deficit in the Q4 to take control. The short-handed Minnesota Lynx fought back, with Kayla McBride sinking her sixth 3-pointer of the second half to bring the score to 77-76 with just over a minute left, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.

The Lynx were already reeling after losing Game 3 to the Mercury 84-76, falling 2-1 in the best-of-five. Things got worse when Napheesa Collier went down with a scary left ankle injury in the final seconds. HC Reeve even hinted it might be a fracture, ruling her out of Game 4. As if that wasn’t enough, Reeve was suspended for the next game over her alleged actions and explosive verbal accusations. Suddenly, the Lynx’s playoff hopes were on very shaky ground.

After the elimination shock, Lynx star Kayla McBride faced the press with tears in her eyes, emotional not just for herself, but for her teammates, especially Collier, who took a major hit in the last game. “It’s the people. The people I go to work with every day. I’ve been here five years, and to be this close—you just want it for the people around you. You want it for the ones who grind with you every single day: the good days, the bad days, the bus rides, the locker room. In pro sports, it doesn’t get any better than what we have in our locker room. That’s why I’m emotional. Because we lay it out for each other. It’s never about anything else,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion.

As a veteran who has been with the team for several years, having joined in 2021 and experienced playoff heartbreak before, McBride felt the weight of responsibility even more. “As a vet, as someone older, I feel everything. I care deeply about the people around me. That’s always how I’ve moved in this league. I care,” she added.

On the court, the Lynx had a strong start, leading by as many as 14 points and holding a 13-point advantage entering the fourth quarter. But the Mercury stormed back with a 19-2 run, taking a four-point lead with just under three minutes left. Phoenix outscored Minnesota 31-13 in the fourth quarter in front of a packed home crowd of 16,919. 

McBride finished with a game-high 31 points and four rebounds, while Courtney Williams added 20 points and six assists. Despite her best efforts, McBride’s final shot rimmed out—an almost symbolic end to the top-seeded Lynx’s season. Minnesota became the first team in WNBA history to lose two playoff games after holding a lead of at least 14 points, as Phoenix advanced to its first WNBA Finals since 2021.

The Mercury defied the odds

The Phoenix Mercury entered the playoffs as underdogs, with just a 10.7% chance to make the WNBA Finals compared to Minnesota’s dominant 89.3%. But from the very first game, they showed they weren’t going down without a fight. In Game 1, Alyssa Thomas scored 47 points in the first half, though they fell short in that opener. But the loss only lit a fire under them. The end result? Ticket to the finals.

“I appreciate when they don’t pick us because, you know, that’s just added fuel, added motivation. And we know the type of people we have in this locker room,” Thomas shared with Yahoo Sports. “We have people that have won championships. So we just continue to stay our course and do what we do.” Veterans like DeWanna Bonner, with 16 seasons and two titles, and Sami Whitcomb, a two-time champion, helped guide the team through the pressure moments. Bonner’s impact in Game 4 was huge, scoring 11 of her 13 points and all three of her 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Phoenix erased a 13-point deficit to secure the win.

On the stat sheet, Thomas led the way with 23 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, while Satou Sabally added 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Bonner chipped in 13 points off the bench, showing why experience matters in crunch time. “It took everybody. Everybody on this team,” Thomas said after their earlier victory. “We are hungry. We are ready for this moment and I’m just super proud of how we fought today.” 

Now, the No. 4 seed Mercury will face the winner of the Aces-Fever series in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals, starting October 3. Phoenix are all suited up to claim that title for the first time since 2014 in a historic best-of-seven-finale series.