Minnesota Lynx Defeat Indiana Fever 86-66 in Regular Season Finale

<p>Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever lost to the Minnesota Lynx 86-66 in their regular-season finale on Thursday night.</p><p>The Fever were unable to secure a win, which would have improved their playoff seeding. With this loss, Indiana will now face the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in the playoffs, led by MVP frontrunner A'ja Wilson. A victory could have allowed Indiana to play against the Atlanta Dream.</p><p>In a previous matchup on Tuesday, Indiana had defeated the Lynx at home, handing Minnesota its largest deficit of the season at that time.</p><p>In the rematch, Minnesota limited Clark to a career-low two points on 1-of-12 shooting in 18 minutes of play, with the Fever trailing 62-32 at halftime. Minnesota was missing rookie Olivia Miles due to a calf injury.</p><p>The Lynx had rested their starters for much of the second half in Tuesday's game, and Indiana appeared to limit Clark's playing time after falling behind by 30 points in the third quarter. Sophie Cunningham also did not score in her 16 minutes on the court.</p><p>Clark entered the game needing 11 points to become the first player in WNBA history to reach 900 points and 300 assists in a single season, but she finished with two points, three assists, and four rebounds.</p><p>Indiana's situation was further complicated by the absence of starting center Aliyah Boston due to a right lower leg injury, and guard Ty Harris was carried off the court during the game.</p><p>On a positive note for Indiana, Kelsey Mitchell set a new record for the most three-pointers in a single season, hitting her 135th shot to surpass Rhyne Howard's previous record of 134. Mitchell led the Fever with 10 points, ending her streak of 27 consecutive games with 20 or more points as Indiana concluded the regular season with a 28-15 record.</p><p>The WNBA postseason is set to begin on Sunday.</p>