The Aces and Mercury won Game 3s, but injury, physicality and officiating are the bigger takeaways from the WNBA semifinals

Both Game 3s of the 2025 WNBA semifinals took place on Friday night.

In the first game, the No. 2-seed Las Vegas Aces won on the road, 84-72, to gain control of their series against the No. 6-seed Indiana Fever. Despite A’ja Wilson struggling, going 6-for-20 from the field and scoring just 13 points, Las Vegas got the job done. Jackie Young had one of her better games of the series, scoring 25 points, and Dana Evans was huge off the bench, contributing 13 points.

However, the the matchup between the No. 4-seed Phoenix Mercury and No. 1-seed Minnesota Lynx stole the show due to the competitiveness, the physicality, the unfortunate injury suffered by Napheesa Collier, the ejection of Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve and the Mercury ultimately winning, 84-76.

This game featured plenty of physicality throughout, but the intensity was certainly ramped up in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line.

We had Satou Sabally and Bridget Carleton jawing at each other, accompanied by some light bumping. Kahleah Copper had her mouth so close to Courtney Williams’ ear that even Mike Tyson was concerned. And this was all before things reached a boiling point during the final minute of the matchup.

With 28 seconds left, the Lynx were down by four points with possession of the ball. They inbounded the ball, but at the top of the key, Alyssa Thomas was able to steal the ball from Collier, scoring the game-clinching basket.

The swipe was clean, but unfortunately, Collier twisted her ankle and fell hard to the ground. Reeve was irate at what she believed was a missed call and had to be held back by several coaches and players as she went on the court and gave the officials an earful. She was ejected from the game and left yelling at anyone who would listen to her remarks.

Collier was also done for that night. She had to be helped off the court and was visibly upset, tearing up as she headed to the locker room.

With the Mercury now ahead 2-1, the series has tilted their favor. On Friday night, they were lead by their “Big 3,” with Sabally scoring 23 points as Thomas and Copper each had 21. Thomas also added nine rebounds, eight assists, five steals and two blocks.

But the biggest event, even beyond the result, is the injury to Collier. If she is done, then Minnesota’s hopes of winning a title are gone with her. She finished with 17 points on Friday night, while Natisha Hiedeman led the Lynx with 19 points from off the bench.

Due to the Collier injury and her team’s overall frustration of the officiating, Reeve was still hot after the game, and she had an epic rant during her postgame media availability.

Physicality is part of the WNBA. It’s one of, if not the most, physical league in all of basketball.

Still, it seems we’ve heard a lot of chatter from all teams about too much being allowed during these semifinals. Both the Fever and the Aces have been vocal about the lack of a whistle, and even with Las Vegas winning Game 3, head coach Becky Hammon expressed her dissatisfaction with her star, Wilson, not receiving any calls.

Now, is this just coaches working the refs and asking for calls for their stars? Or, is it an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed in terms of the quality of the referees? This is always a tough thing to assess, mainly because I’ve never heard of any professional team in any league ever stating that they thought the officials in any way were good.

Also, it is important to note that, while Collier’s injury is unfortunate, nothing about that specific play was dirty or afoul. Hopefully, she is okay and it’s not a fracture or anything of that nature. It would be a shame if the Lynx weren’t able to be healthy for the rest of this series.

What’s next?

The Aces appear on their way to the WNBA Finals. Las Vegas’ guards have stepped up, and they were still able to win even with Wilson having a subpar game. The Fever have fought valiantly, but this might be it for them.

The Mercury-Lynx series assessment is on hold until we get an injury update on Collier. If she is okay, then they can still very much win Game 4 and Game 5. If she is done, then it’s time to significantly reduce their odds of winning.

For now, Phoenix and Las Vegas are both one win away from playing each other for the title.