‘Every Player Was Terrible’ — Lynx HC Cheryl Reeve Lays Waste After Minnesota’s Late Implosion in Stunning Loss to Sparks

The Minnesota Lynx watched their 10-game winning streak vanish into thin air during a stunning 89-82 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night. Head coach Cheryl Reeve watched helplessly as the Lynx collapsed late in front of their stunned fans at Target Center.

Los Angeles entered the building with a modest 11-18 record and left with a signature win. Minnesota, meanwhile, abandoned its defensive principles in the final five minutes, exposing shocking complacency and earning harsh criticism from Reeve.

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Late-Game Collapse vs. Sparks Exposes Lynx’s Defensive Flaws

The final moments of regulation were nothing short of a horror movie for the home crowd.

Kayla McBride connected on a crucial 3-pointer to give Minnesota an 82-81 lead with just under five minutes remaining. The momentum was clearly in favor of the league leaders.

But the Lynx went completely scoreless for the final 4:53 of the contest. Their offense fizzled into isolation sets and rushed jumpers.

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Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike secured the lead with a physical go-ahead layup through heavy traffic. Erica Wheeler then punished Minnesota with a crisp pull-up 10-footer, and Monique Akoa Makani and Wheeler hit the final two daggers to seal the upset.

Reeve refused to let anyone deflect the blame toward the cold shooting stretch, instead directing her postgame fury to the defensive side of the floor.

“Literally, a team can get whatever they want,” Reeve said. “Doesn’t matter the action. Doesn’t matter which personnel you go against. They get anything they want.”

Her frustration boiled over when reporters attempted to ask about the Lynx’s late offensive execution.

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“Every player at every position was terrible,” Reeve continued. “Every player that played in the game, at every position. Let’s talk about our offense, is that what we’re going to do? We lost our game because we didn’t play any [expletive] defense. So, if you want to talk about offense, you sound like the players.”