2015 WNBA Finals

2015 WNBA Finals

Team	Coach	Wins
Minnesota Lynx	Cheryl Reeve	3
Indiana Fever	Stephanie White	2

Dates:

October 4–October 14

MVP:

Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota)

Television:

ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 (HD)

Announcers:

Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo

Referees:

Game 1: Sue Blauch, Eric Brewton, Kurt Walker

Game 2: Michael Price, Maj Forsberg, Lamont Simpson

Game 3: Denise Brooks, Roy Gulbeyan, Tom Mauer

Game 4: Sue Blauch, Eric Brewton, Maj Forsberg

Game 5: Michael Price, Denise Brooks, Roy Gulbeyan

East Finals:

Indiana Fever defeated New York, 2–1

West Finals:

Minnesota Lynx defeated Phoenix, 2–0

WNBA Finals
← 2014	2016 →

The 2015 WNBA Finals was the championship series for the 2015 WNBA season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). On August 26, vegasinsider.com projected that the Minnesota Lynx has the highest odds to win the series (11/10).^[1]

The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Lynx held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (22–12) than the Fever (20–14).

2015 WNBA Regular Season

Main article: 2015 WNBA season

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
x - New York Liberty	23	11	.676	–	12–5	11–6	13–9
x - Chicago Sky	21	13	.618	2	13–4	8–9	14–8
x - Indiana Fever	20	14	.588	3	11–6	9–8	13–9
x - Washington Mystics	18	16	.529	5	11–6	7–10	10–12
e - Atlanta Dream	15	19	.441	8	9–8	6–11	10–12
e - Connecticut Sun	15	19	.441	8	8–9	7–10	6–16

Western Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
z - Minnesota Lynx	22	12	.647	–	13–4	9–8	16–6
x - Phoenix Mercury	20	14	.588	2	13–4	7–10	15–7
x - Tulsa Shock	18	16	.529	4	12–5	6–11	11–11
x - Los Angeles Sparks	14	20	.412	8	9–8	5–12	10–12
e - Seattle Storm	10	24	.294	12	8–9	2–15	8–14
e - San Antonio Stars	8	26	.235	14	7–10	1–16	6–16

2015 WNBA Playoffs

Main article: 2015 WNBA Playoffs

Minnesota Lynx
22–12 (.647) 1st West, 2nd overall	Seeding	20–14 (.588) 3rd East, 4th overall
Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–1	Conference Semifinals	Defeated the (2) Chicago Sky, 2–1
Defeated the (2) Phoenix Mercury, 2–0	Conference Finals	Defeated the (1) New York Liberty, 2–1

Indiana Fever

Main article: 2015 Indiana Fever season

The Indiana Fever finished 20–14, good for third place in the Eastern Conference. The Fever lost their first playoff game against the Chicago Sky, but rallied to win two straight elimination games, setting up a conference final against the New York Liberty. Once again, Indiana lost the first game of the series, but rallied to win two straight to reach the finals for the third time in franchise history, which gave Stephanie White the first rookie head coach to lead her team to the WNBA Finals.

Minnesota Lynx

Main article: 2015 Minnesota Lynx season

The Minnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the Western Conference for the fourth time in five year, finishing with a 22–12 record. With the mid-season addition of Sylvia Fowles from the Chicago Sky, the Lynx eliminated the Los Angeles Sparks in three games. The Lynx then swept the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference Finals after a controversial foul called on Mercury guard Noelle Quinn on Maya Moore with 1.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter in Game 2, which gave them a chance to win their third WNBA title in five years.

Regular-season series

The Minnesota Lynx won the season series 2–0:

June 6, 2015

Report

Minnesota Lynx 78, Indiana Fever 69

Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

September 4, 2015

Report

Indiana Fever 65, Minnesota Lynx 81

Target Center, Minneapolis, MN

Series summary

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).

Game 1

ABC

October 4
3:00pm ET

Game 1

Indiana Fever 75, Minnesota Lynx 69
Scoring by quarter: 10–10, 25–19, 19–18, 21–22
Pts: January 19 Rebs: Larkins 8 Asts: January 6		Pts: Moore 27 Rebs: Moore 12 Asts: Augustus, Whalen 4
Indiana leads series 1-0

Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 11,023
Referees: Sue Blauch, Eric Brewton, Kurt Walker

Game 2

ESPN2

October 6
8:00pm ET

Game 2

Indiana Fever 71, Minnesota Lynx 77
Scoring by quarter: 24–20, 17–19, 18–24, 12–14
Pts: January 17 Rebs: Catchings, Larkins 9 Asts: Catchings, January 5		Pts: Fowles 21 Rebs: Fowles 9 Asts: Cruz, Moore 5
Series tied 1-1

Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 12,134
Referees: Michael Price, Maj Forsberg, Lamont Simpson

Game 3

ESPN2

October 9
8:00pm ET

Game 3

Minnesota Lynx 80, Indiana Fever 77
Scoring by quarter: 20–19, 18–23, 21–15, 21–20
Pts: Moore 24 Rebs: Fowles 11 Asts: Cruz 5		Pts: Johnson 17 Rebs: Catchings 10 Asts: January 8
Minnesota leads series 2-1

Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 16,332
Referees: Denise Brooks, Roy Gulbeyan, Tom Mauer

Game 4

ESPN

October 11
8:30pm ET

Game 4

Minnesota Lynx 69, Indiana Fever 75
Scoring by quarter: 20–15, 12–21, 14–22, 23–17
Pts: Moore 20 Rebs: Moore 8 Asts: six tied 2		Pts: Johnson 15 Rebs: Larkins 6 Asts: January 5
Series tied 2-2

Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 10,582
Referees: Sue Blauch, Eric Brewton, Maj Forsberg

Game 5

ESPN2

October 14
8:00pm ET

Game 5

Indiana Fever 52, Minnesota Lynx 69
Scoring by quarter: 17–15, 4–12, 8–21, 23–21
Pts: Catchings 18 Rebs: Catchings 11 Asts: January, Zellous 3		Pts: Fowles 20 Rebs: Brunson 14 Asts: Moore 5
Minnesota wins series 3-2

Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 18,933
Referees: Michael Price, Denise Brooks, Roy Gulbeyan

Rosters

Minnesota Lynx roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
2.5 !G/F	33	USA !	Augustus, Seimone	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	04-30-1984	LSU
4.0 !F	32	USA !	Brunson, Rebekkah	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	12-11-1981	Georgetown
1.5 !G	51	ESP !	Cruz, Anna	7000175260000000000♠5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	10-27-1986	Spain
6.0 !C	34	USA !	Fowles, Sylvia	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	10-06-1985	LSU
1.5 !G	3	USA !	Greene, Kalana	7000177800000000000♠5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	07-13-1987	Connecticut
4.0 !F	15	USA !	Jones, Asjha	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	08-01-1980	Connecticut
4.0 !F	1	USA !	Kelley, Shae	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	166 lb (75 kg)	09-29-1991	Minnesota
1.5 !G	20	USA !	Liston, Tricia	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	02-20-1992	Duke
1.5 !G	21	USA !	Montgomery, Renee	7000170180000000000♠5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)	143 lb (65 kg)	12-02-1986	Connecticut
4.0 !F	23	USA !	Moore, Maya	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	06-11-1989	Connecticut
4.0 !F	14	USA !	Peters, Devereaux	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	10-08-1989	Notre Dame
1.5 !G	13	USA !	Whalen, Lindsay	7000175260000000000♠5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	164 lb (74 kg)	05-09-1982	Minnesota

Head coach: Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches: Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
Jim Petersen (Minnesota)

Athletic trainer: Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant trainer: Keith Uzpen (Minnesota State-Mankato)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured

Indiana Fever roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
4.0 !F	11	CAN !	Achonwa, Natalie	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	11-22-1992	Notre Dame
4.0 !F	24	USA !	Catchings, Tamika	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	167 lb (76 kg)	07-21-1979	Tennessee
1.5 !G	5	USA !	Clarendon, Layshia	7000175260000000000♠5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	140 lb (64 kg)	05-02-1991	UC Berkeley
2.5 !G/F	25	USA !	Coleman, Marissa	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	01-04-1987	Maryland
4.0 !F	33	USA !	Howard, Natasha	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	169 lb (77 kg)	09-02-1991	Florida State
1.5 !G	20	USA !	January, Briann	7000172720000000000♠5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	144 lb (65 kg)	01-11-1987	Arizona State
1.5 !G	42	USA !	Johnson, Shenise	7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	12-09-1990	Miami (FL)
4.0 !F	12	USA !	Kizer, Lynetta	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	04-04-1990	Maryland
4.0 !F	2	USA !	Larkins, Erlana	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	04-02-1986	North Carolina
1.5 !G	8	USA !	Lucas, Maggie	7000177800000000000♠5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	152 lb (69 kg)	11-29-1991	Penn State
1.5 !G	32	USA !	Pohlen, Jeanette	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	05-02-1989	Stanford
1.5 !G	1	USA !	Zellous, Shavonte	7000177800000000000♠5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	08-28-1986	Pittsburgh

Head coach: Stephanie White (Purdue)
Assistant coaches: Gail Goestenkors (Saginaw Valley State)
Gary Kloppenburg (UC San Diego)

Athletic trainer: Todd Champlin (Daemen)

Strength and conditioning coach: Emily Burgess (Slippery Rock)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured

References

↑ WNBA Future Sportsbook Betting Odds at Vegasinsider.com

1998

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

WNBA Championship prior to 2002

2015 WNBA season by team

Draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals

Eastern	Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Washington Mystics

Western	Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury San Antonio Stars Seattle Storm Tulsa Shock

← 2014 WNBA season 2016 →

Women's National Basketball Association (2016)

Eastern Conference	Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Washington Mystics

Western Conference	Dallas Wings Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury San Antonio Stars Seattle Storm

Annual events	Draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals

Statistics	Career scoring Career rebounding Career assists Career steals Career blocks Career turnovers Season: Scoring leaders Rebounding leaders Assists leaders Steals leaders Blocks leaders Turnovers leaders

Other	Arenas Attendance Awards Coaches Defunct teams Expansion draft history LiveAccess MVP NBA Media (NBA TV, WNBA on ESPN, Current broadcasters, Finals broadcasters) Players (Current rosters, Foreign players) Rookie of the Year Seasons Teams (All-Decade Team, Top 15 Team, Top 20 Team)

NBA on ABC

Related
programs

NBA on ESPN	Radio NBA Shootaround NBA Wednesday NBA Friday WNBA on ESPN

NBA Drafts	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Non-NBA programs	ESPN College Basketball on ABC Olympics on ABC

Key figures

Play-by-play	Mike Breen Jim Durham Bill Flemming Chet Forte Jim Gordon Curt Gowdy Chuck Howard Keith Jackson Mark Jones Jim McKay Al Michaels Brent Musburger Brad Nessler John Saunders Chris Schenkel Commentators All-Star Game ESPN NBA Finals WNBA Finals

Color commentators	Greg Anthony Hubie Brown Bob Cousy Sean Elliott Len Elmore Tim Legler Mark Jackson Steve Jones Johnny Kerr Dan Majerle Jack Ramsay Doc Rivers Bill Russell Tom Tolbert Jack Twyman Jeff Van Gundy Bill Walton Jerry West

Sideline reporters	David Aldridge Doris Burke Howard Cosell Heather Cox Dave Diles Mark Jones Sal Masekela Craig Sager Lisa Salters Michele Tafoya

Studio hosts	Dan Patrick Stuart Scott Sage Steele Hannah Storm Mike Tirico Michael Wilbon

Studio analysts	Jon Barry Chris Broussard Doug Collins Steve Javie Avery Johnson Magic Johnson George Karl Scottie Pippen Jalen Rose Byron Scott Bill Simmons

ABC Radio announcers	Marv Albert Dave Barnett Chick Hearn Rod Hundley Steve Jones Fred Manfra Earl Monroe Johnny Most Oscar Robertson Dick Vitale

NBA Finals

ABC Radio's coverage	1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

WNBA Finals	2003 (Game 2 on ABC) 2004 2005 (Game 3 on ABC) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 (Game 1 on ABC) 2011 2012 2013 2014 (Game 1 on ABC)

All-Star Game

ABC Radio's coverage	1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Music

"Let's Get It Started" (2004)
"ABC" (2004)
"Lose My Breath" (2005)
"This Is How a Heart Breaks" (2005)
"Runnin' Down a Dream" (2006)
"Right Now" (2007)
"It Ends Tonight" (2007)
"Nine Lives" (2007)
"Get On Your Boots" (2009)
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" (2009)
"Rip This Joint" (2010)
"Oh Santa!" (2010)
"Black Dog" (2011)
"Timber" (2014)

Lore

Rivalries	Bryant–O'Neal Lakers–Pistons Celtics–Lakers

ESPN lore	Pacers–Pistons brawl

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