Lynx Star Gets Honest on Team's 'Biggest Concern' in Loss to Indiana Fever

Minnesota Lynx forward Jessica Shepard spoke on the team's shorthanded loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday

Sep 9, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever forward Brianna Turner (11), Minnesota Lynx forward Jessica Shepard (15), Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10) and Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton (6) go for the rebound during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Grace Smith-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The Minnesota Lynx were without MVP candidate Napheesa Collier and star point guard DiJonai Carrington in Tuesday's 83-72 loss to the Indiana Fever, and it couldn't have been any more apparent. The Lynx came out flat from the opening tip and never led once in the contest, while falling behind by as many as 24 points at one juncture.

Minnesota actually held a stark 58-34 advantage in points in the paint even without Collier in the lineup, but the most telling stat in the box score for the Lynx on Tuesday was their abysmal 2-of-20 (10 percent) shooting clip from 3-point range.

Caitlin Clark calling a timeout for the Lynx 😅

Watch Lynx-Fever on ESPN, Disney+ and the ESPN App 🍿 pic.twitter.com/aSdAaEVrBF

— ESPN (@espn) September 9, 2025

While the shooting woes could have been an easy culprit, Lynx forward Jessica Shepard refused to let her team off the hook. Shepard insisted that effort has been Minnesota's real issue on Tuesday, and that her team probably didn't stand a chance regardless of their shooting percentage.

"I don't think the shots falling or not falling were the problem," Shepard said "I think they just played harder than us today, which we know, every time we put on this jersey, that's not acceptable. That's something the Lynx, as a whole, we hold ourselves to a certain standard. And today, regardless of the shots going in or not, we didn't compete."

Jessica Shepard on the Lynx’s biggest problem against the Fever

“I think it was just, we weren’t dictating, we weren’t being aggressive, we weren’t rotating for each other. Just really like the hustle plays. The areas of effort were the biggest concern today pic.twitter.com/X6diB4WYF8

— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) September 10, 2025

Trouble Before The Playoffs

Shepard was especially disappointed that her team's subpar performance came in their second-to-last game of the regular season, a time when the team should be rounding into form mentally ahead of what will likely be a taxing playoff run, championship or not. The final game before that run is quickly approaching on Thursday, and the team will be thrown right into the playoffs this weekend.

"What we did tonight is not going to get us where we want to go," Shepard said. "So, a quick turnaround and, you know, we just have to be better and we have to keep, every day just playing hard, really. That's the biggest thing."

final. pic.twitter.com/KVebiZO8ap

— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) September 10, 2025

The Lynx will likely face the Seattle Storm in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday. The game will air as part of a special WNBA playoff quadruple header on ABC/ESPN, though the time of their matchup has yet to be determined. The scheduled time slots for Saturday's games are 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 10 p.m. (all times Eastern).

According to FanDuel, the Lynx are +105 favorites to win the WNBA Finals, ahead of the defending champion New York Liberty and the red-hot Las Vegas Aces, who have won 15 consecutive games since suffering a 53-point loss to Minnesota on Aug. 2.

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