Napheesa Collier’s Ankle Injury in Loss Leads Cheryl Reeve to Aggressively Confront Official

Napheesa Collier and her Minnesota Lynx landed in Phoenix to take on the Mercury for Games 3 & 4 of the 2nd round playoffs.

Napheesa Collier’s Ankle Injury in Loss Leads Cheryl Reeve to Aggressively Confront Official

Cheryl Reeve lashed out at officials after Napheesa Collier injury (Image via FirstSportz)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

In the second game of the 2nd-round playoff series, all eyes were on Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx as Cheryl Reeve prepared them to return to their winning ways against the Phoenix Mercury.

In Game 2, they could not stay with the away team in overtime and lost in front of the Lynx fans who packed out Target Center. The hope was that Collier and her team would clean up their mistakes and return the favor in Phoenix.

The game was an even affair as both teams took every other quarter to stay even entering the 4th. Then, the Mercury increased their defensive intensity, forcing the Lynx to struggle to get the ball into scoring positions.

However, the Lynx were still just 4 points behind with 28 seconds left on the clock. In trying to confuse the home team, Napheesa Collier inbounded the ball to Natisha Hiedeman and ran across to take it back.

As the MVP candidate took the handoff running along the 3-point line, Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas stayed alongside her and poked the ball out of the Lynx star’s hands.

She then raced towards the other end to score an easy layup. At this moment, the officials called to stop the game as Napheesa Collier lay on the floor clutching her left ankle, visibly in pain.

Seeing this, head coach Cheryl Reeve went shouting after the nearest official, even getting into his face, which forced the referee to throw her out of the game.

She still kept barking at that referee even though Hiedeman and a few assistants tried to pull her back. Eventually, she stormed off, hurling curse words at Mercury fans.

Cheryl Reeve blasts the officiating crew

Cheryl Reeve was just ejected from the game, but it does not mean she cannot attend the post-game press conference. When it was her turn, she said this as she sat down to address the media.

One of the best players in our league shot 0 free throws. She had five fouls… got her shoulder pulled out, and finished the game with her leg being taken out. And probably has a fracture. If this is what our league wants, okay. But I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. It’s bad for the game.

Cheryl Reeve said

Team USA’s Paris Olympics head coach added that the way the physicality has been allowed in the playoffs is only going to hurt the WNBA. She added that other head coaches have been talking about it all season, and now there has to be a change.

Reeve lashed out at officials last season, claiming the WNBA Finals were stolen from them. She was not the only one to question those foul calls, as the league’s officiating constantly captures headlines.

Lynx’s championship hopes depend on Napheesa Collier’s injury status

Napheesa Collier is known for her ability to withstand the physicality from other bigger players in the WNBA. However, her ankles have become the one concern she has been battling with.

Napheesa Collier injured her left ankle
Napheesa Collier injured her left ankle (Image via New York Post/X)

She seemingly lost out on her maiden MVP award after sitting out for more than 3 weeks after injuring her ankle in the 53-point drubbing her Lynx handed out to the Las Vegas Aces on August 2nd.

This time, the 29-year-old was visibly emotional on the bench before making it to the medical room. Later, as Dana Scott reported, the UConn star was seen using a wheeled scooter after the game.

Even if it is not a fracture, as her head coach termed, any significant damage would force her to sit out. During her previous injury, her team won 5 out of their 7 games.

However, the playoffs are an entirely different ballgame. They cannot win without Napheesa Collier’s scoring, defense, and ability to read and make adjustments. This 2nd round could be the end of the line for the league’s best team.

Also Read: