Napheesa Collier Misses Game 4 Due to Ankle Injury
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier will not participate in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals against the Phoenix Mercury due to a left ankle injury, the team reported.
The Sunday game is crucial for the Lynx, who are down 2-1 in the best-of-five series.
Collier suffered the injury with 21.8 seconds left in the Game 3 loss, with a score of 84-76. Her left leg made contact with Phoenix guard Alyssa Thomas while she was trying to steal the ball, causing Collier to fall hard on the side of her ankle.
Collier limped to the bench, where she sat with tears in her eyes. Finally, she was assisted off the court before the end of the game. Afterwards, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve mentioned that “there was probably a fracture,” but offered no further details.
The Lynx also did not provide any further information on Collier’s injury beyond what was included in Saturday’s injury report, nor did they offer a timeline for her recovery.
The play in which Collier was injured caused Reeve to run onto the court to yell at a referee and had to be restrained. She was given her second technical foul of the game, which led to her ejection.
It was “bad practice” for this group to officiate a WNBA semi-final game, and she asked for a change in the league’s leadership regarding who is in charge of officiating.
The WNBA announced that Reeve would be suspended for one game due to her “conduct and comments” in Game 3, which included “aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, not leaving the court in a timely manner after her ejection… inappropriate comments to fans while leaving the court and comments in a post-game press conference”.
Reeve will serve her suspension during Game 4, which will force the Lynx to fight to avoid elimination without their coach or star player.
Collier missed seven straight games between July and August due to a right ankle sprain. Minnesota had a 5-2 record without her during that period.
