The Minnesota Lynx had built their season on consistency and dominance. A franchise-best record (34-10), the No. 1 seed, and an identity as the league’s standard-bearer carried them into the playoffs with championship expectations. Yet, for the second straight year, their postseason ended in heartbreak.
On Sunday night, Minnesota was eliminated in the semifinals by the Phoenix Mercury, falling 86-81 in Game 4. The Lynx led by 13 points entering the fourth quarter but were outscored 31-13 down the stretch, their season unraveling in the final 10 minutes.
Kayla McBride scored a playoff career-high 31 points on 10-of-23 shooting, including six made threes, while Courtney Williams added 20 points and six assists. But the absence of superstar Napheesa Collier and suspended head coach Cheryl Reeve left Minnesota without two of its most important voices in a win-or-go-home game.
Collier’s Absence Looms Large
Collier’s injury occurred late in Game 3, when she rolled her ankle after colliding with Alyssa Thomas on a no-call steal. She finished that game with 17 points but was ruled out for Game 4.
Without her presence, the Lynx leaned heavily on McBride and Williams to carry the offense. Jessica Shepard chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds, while Alanna Smith posted eight points and eight boards. Off the bench, Natisha Hiedeman scored just three points after providing a spark earlier in the series.
Meanwhile, the Mercury thrived with Thomas leading the way. She nearly posted a triple-double with 23 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, while Satou Sabally added 21 points and DeWanna Bonner provided 13 off the bench, including two back-breaking threes in the closing minutes.
Alyssa Thomas to DeWanna Bonner for three #WNBA pic.twitter.com/FPqHmAUjrC
— Aya Abdeen (@ayabdeen) September 29, 2025
Associate head coach Eric Thibault, tasked with leading the Lynx in Reeve’s absence, pointed to Phoenix’s fourth-quarter defense as the key.
“You’ve got to give Phoenix credit for the way they defended in some of the fourth quarters,” Thibault said. “They switched and they made it hard for us and I think we just didn’t get enough quality shots down the stretch.”
He added that the Mercury capitalized on opportunities Minnesota could not.
“[Bonner] made some threes that she hadn’t made earlier in the series and she makes them tonight,” Thibault said. “I actually thought we got a few stops and we just weren’t able to convert on them. We did a good job taking care of the ball, but we got up against the shot clock a bunch of possessions.”
McBride: “It’s the People”
McBride was hit hardest by the defeat. A veteran presence who has spent five years with the Lynx, she spoke through tears about the bond with her teammates.
“It’s the people,” McBride said. “It’s the people that I go to work with every day. And, you know, I’ve been here five years and to be so close and you just—you just want it forgoo the people around you.”
She explained that what hurt most wasn’t simply the loss, but how much she wanted to win for those in the locker room.
Kayla McBride is tearing up after the heartbreaker in the postgame presser. She finished the game with 31 points #WNBA pic.twitter.com/nynkANQd6Q
— Aya Abdeen (@ayabdeen) September 29, 2025
“You want it for the people that grind with you every single day,” McBride said. “The good days, bad days, bus rides, locker room—in pro sports, it doesn’t get any better than what we have in our locker room. And that’s why it hurts most, because we lay it out for each other. It’s never about anything else but each other.”
Even with the heartbreak, McBride insisted she wouldn’t trade this team for anything.
“I would feel like this a hundred times over to be with the people that I’ve been with,” she said. “That’s why it’s painful—cause you just wanted to keep going. It’s done. So, yeah.”
Williams on the Weight of the No. 1 Seed
Courtney Williams echoed McBride’s sentiments but focused on the challenge of carrying the league’s top record all season — making them a target for opponents. In fact, the Lynx join the 2000 Sparks and 2021 Sun as teams with the highest single-season win percentage (.773) that failed to make the Finals.
“Honestly, it was a joy,” Williams said. “Like, I don’t look at this season and think, ‘Oh, this is hard cause we got a target on our back.’ That’s what we wanted, right? Like, we got in the gym and we stacked our days.”
She admitted the injuries late in the season were a blow, but she praised the fight of her teammates.
“We got hit with that injury bug and, you know, it’s just hard,” Williams said. “But, you know, what’s for us ain’t never going to miss us. So, shout out to them girls coming out here playing hard-fought basketball and shout out to us for not giving up.”
Series Slips Away for Lynx
The Lynx won Game 1 at home but never regained control. In Game 2, they blew a 20-point lead as Phoenix stormed back, one of the largest comebacks in playoff history. In Game 3, Sabally’s 23 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, gave the Mercury another comeback win.
Game 4 followed the same script. Minnesota shot 41.6% from the field and held a 14-point lead at its peak, but Phoenix shot 42.6% overall and buried 11 threes compared to Minnesota’s nine.
Satou Sabally’s performance was SPECIAL in the @phoenixmercury’s victory to advance to the Finals for the first time since 2021!
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 29, 2025
🦄 21 PTS
🦄 6 REB
🦄 3 AST
🦄 3 3PM#WelcometotheW | WNBA Playoffs | @google pic.twitter.com/wGsCFmTSh5
The Mercury also won the rebounding battle 38-34 and converted at the free throw line, finishing 17-of-23 compared to the Lynx’s 8-of-9.
Minnesota’s bench provided little scoring beyond Bonner’s counterpart on the other side, as Phoenix outscored them 22-11 in that department. The Lynx also committed 18 fouls, one of which was a technical, while Phoenix was whistled for just 10.
Another Lynx Season of “What If?”
For the second consecutive year, Minnesota’s season ended in disappointment. In 2024, they lost in five games to the New York Liberty in the Finals, undone by an overtime defeat in Game 5 after a controversial foul call. This year, they didn’t even reach the Finals, falling in the semis after losing their best player and head coach at the most critical moment.
Thibault summed up the spirit of a team that never quit despite the circumstances.
“The way these guys came out and played—when everything’s gone on the last couple days—it’s another example of who they are,” he said.
For McBride, Williams and the rest of the Lynx, this season will be remembered as one filled with highs and lows, but ultimately another haunting reminder of how quickly things can slip away in the postseason.
The Lynx carried the burden of being the league’s top seed. They fought to the end. But as McBride made clear, the pain came not just from losing a series, but from the relationships and dreams left unfulfilled.
Minnesota must now evaluate how to best position itself to come back even better next season. The Lynx can look forward to holding the second-best odds for the No. 1 overall pick due to owning the Chicago Sky’s first-round selection among tools to use to improve.
