Indiana Fever Defeat Minnesota Lynx 76-70, Go Up 1-0 in WNBA Finals


The WNBA Finals tipped off Sunday night, as the Indiana Fever took a quick 1-0 series lead after winning Game 1 by a 76-70 margin. Here’s a recap, courtesy of the Indy Star: “Midway through the fourth quarter, the Indiana Fever were clinging to a three-point lead ahead of an inbounds pass by the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx’s Rebekkah Brunson rose to shoot ….. And had the ball swatted away by Erlana Larkins. Fever coach Lin Dunn called it a ‘thunder block.’ Larkins retrieved the ball and passed ahead to a streaking Briann January, whose layup expanded the margin to five. If there was an exclamation point to the Fever’s 76-70 victory in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday night, that was it. ‘It kind of set the tone that, ‘Hey, we’re for real and we’re ready to play,’’ Dunn said. The Fever’s ferocity from Thursday’s East-clinching victory at Connecticut carried over to Minnesota. Tamika Catchings stuffed the stat sheet — 20 points, six rebounds, three steals, four blocks — and Larkins added 16 points and 15 rebounds. The Eastern Conference champion had lost eight in a row in the Finals, dating to the Fever’s Game 3 victory over Phoenix in 2009. The loss was only the second in 21 home games in 2012 for the Lynx.”