MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Caitlin Clark may have been missing, but Natasha Howard and her Indiana Fever teammates more than made up for her absence on both ends of the court.<\/p>\n
Howard had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on Tuesday night as the Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx 74-59 in the WNBA Commissioner\u2019s Cup final.<\/p>\n
Indiana played without Clark, their All-Star guard<\/a> who has been sidelined since June 24 with a strained groin. That didn\u2019t slow down the Fever, who overcame an early 13-point deficit with balanced scoring and a stout defensive performance against the team with the best record in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have the confidence in yourself and the confidence in your teammates to allow someone else to step up in those moments, and I think that this group is learning that,\u201d said Fever coach Stephanie White, whose team has an 8-8 record.<\/p>\n Howard, the 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, held Lynx All-Star Napheesa Collier to just 12 points on 6-for-18 shooting. Collier also had five of Minnesota\u2019s 16 turnovers.<\/p>\n \u201cPhee\u2019s a great player, but my thing was, make her take hard shots, and that\u2019s what I did tonight,\u201d said Howard, who was named the game\u2019s MVP. <\/p>\n Minnesota had its worst offensive performance of the season, shooting 34.9% from the floor and making 4 of 16 3-pointers after averaging 9.4 3-pointers this season.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a tendency sometimes to get impatient, and I didn\u2019t think that our commitment to moving the basketball and creating advantages \u2014 we had a hard time getting that done,\u201d Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.<\/p>\n Sophie Cunningham scored 13 points while Aliyah Boston, Aari McDonald and Kelsey Mitchell each scored 12 points.<\/p>\n \u201cI described this entire experience as a gut-check experience, and I mean it intentionally. I mean, physically, mentally, psychologically,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cWe did an unbelievable job of just staying together and weathering the storm.\u201d<\/p>\n Alanna Smith led Minnesota with 15 points. Courtney Williams added 11 points but had a team-high six turnovers.<\/p>\n Minnesota dominated early, as Smith hit a 3-pointer and made an acrobatic layup to cap a 12-0 run that gave the Lynx an 18-9 lead.<\/p>\n They stretched their lead to 27-14 early in the second quarter. But Minnesota was held scoreless for the final 8:17 of the half, gong 0 for 10 from the floor as the Fever stormed back. Cunningham hit a pair of 3s as Indiana closed the quarter on an 18-0 run to take a 32-27 lead at the half.<\/p>\n The Fever built their lead to double figures as Howard scored 10 points in the third quarter and the Lynx never got closer than seven the rest of the way.<\/p>\n When Minnesota rallied to cut the deficit to 60-51 midway through the fourth quarter, Cunningham buried her third 3-pointer of the night to silence the crowd and send the Fever on their way.<\/p>\n