Lynx: WNBA title dream truncated in semifinals after great season

Bitter Season’s End for the Lynx: Championship Dream Fades

Phoenix – Player Kayla McBride covered her face with her jersey, fighting back tears. The season that she and her Minnesota Lynx teammates had envisioned with a trophy and champagne, ended on Sunday amid sadness and frustration. The team, which dominated the regular season and was shaping up to be the best in the WNBA, saw its championship aspirations turn into a shocking nightmare. With head coach Cheryl Reeve suspended and Napheesa Collier, the team’s most important player, out with an injury, the Lynx suffered a defeat to the Phoenix Mercury that ended their playoff campaign.

“Being close two years in a row… this hurts so much,” said McBride, who scored 31 points in the last game.

Kayla McBride

The defeat in last season’s WNBA final, and the comments about the refereeing, seemed to push the Lynx to seek revenge in 2025. For almost five months, the team seemed to be on the road to success. However, fate had a harsh lesson in store for them. After sweeping Golden State in the first round and winning the first game of the semifinals against Phoenix, the Lynx lost control. For the first time in franchise history, they lost a game after leading by at least 16 points at halftime. That 89-83 loss to the Mercury marked the beginning of the end.

In the third game against Phoenix, the Lynx were leading 67-63 after three quarters. But they lost the last quarter and, more significantly, Collier, who suffered an injury after a play with Alyssa Thomas. Coach Reeve, visibly affected, was ejected from the game and criticized the refereeing. The disappointment of this season is profound, especially after years of building and the departure of key figures. Collier’s arrival in 2019 marked the beginning of a new era, with the hope of building a winning team. The Lynx met expectations, winning a Commissioner’s Cup title in June and competing for the WNBA championship in October. However, the injury of Collier and Carrington, and the team’s diminished killer instinct, were key factors in their elimination. After a good start in the fourth game, and with a 13-point lead in the last quarter, the Lynx seemed ready to force a fifth game. But, for the third time in six days, the Mercury took control, and the Lynx’s dream season faded. The Lynx became the eleventh team in WNBA history to have the league’s best record but not win the championship, and the sixth of those teams to not even reach the WNBA Finals.

“This is what we wanted, right? The injury plague hit us, and, you know, it’s difficult. Congratulations to us for not giving up,” Williams commented.

Courtney Williams

The uncertainty about the squad for 2026, due to the need for a new collective agreement, makes the end of this season even more painful. McBride, moved, expressed her feelings: “I just want this to go on.”