When does one feel the most motivated? Is it when they have everything to lose? As a report by ‘The Science of Running’ uncovered back in 2018, “The stakes, risks, and importance are what makes playoff basketball so much better than the regular season”. The rewards are greater, but so is the feeling that a few missteps would undo all the work that was done over the last 6-7 months to get to this point. As it turns out, this feeling is what motivated Cheryl Reeve to motivate her players to give their all during the recent playoff matchup.
The Minnesota Lynx now head to the Semi-Finals after securing their 2nd consecutive win against the Golden State Valkyries. ESPN’s Kendra Andrews reported on Cheryl Reeve’s remarks in the aftermath of the game. As it turns out, the Lynx head coach was watching last night’s games and thought it was a good reminder, as Andrews reported, about “how hungry opponents on the brink of elimination are. She said it was a good reality check heading into tonight’s Game 2 where the Valkyries are fighting for their lives.”
The Minnesota Lynx recovered from a 17-point deficit to beat the Valkyries.
Before the Minnesota Lynx-Golden State Valkyries matchup, the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream battled it out. Meanwhile, the Seattle Storm also had a matchup against the Las Vegas Aces. Both Fever and Storm had lost Game 1 and were just one more loss away from elimination.
The Indiana Fever never trailed on Tuesday. Through a 10-2 run in the second quarter, the team opened up a 30-19 lead. The Dream climbed back within three early in the third quarter, but Indiana blew the game open by the end of the third quarter. Both Aliyah Boston and Shey Peddy kept things interesting during the final seconds. Indiana extended its lead to as many as 24 points in the final frame and secured the franchise’s first playoff victory since the 2015 WNBA Finals.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Storm were down 14 points in the 3rd quarter of their game. However, Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike combined for 50 points to give the Storm an edge. 35 seconds remained in the game, and the Storm were down 83–81. Ogwumike secured a rebound, threw it to Diggins, who in turn threw it to a streaking Dominique Malonga, who scored. With just 4.2 seconds left on the clock, Diggins isolated Jackie Young and drilled a jumper from just inside the foul line. Lo and behold, the Storm lived to fight another day.
The Minnesota Lynx had a similar story to that of the Fever and the Storm. After all, they recovered from a 17-point deficit to beat the Valkyries, and that too by a close margin of 75-74. If Cecilia Zandalasini hadn’t missed a buzzer-beating jumper, then there would have been a Game 3. Therefore, while watching the previous games was a reminder for Cheryl Reeve, so was her team encountering this close shave.
Cheryl Reeve’s mindset helped the Minnesota Lynx avoid a Game 3. However, even a late realization about how teams get more ‘hungry’ in the playoffs wouldn’t have worked if the head coach wasn’t already not looking to underestimate the Golden State Valkyries.
Cheryl Reeve Saw Valkyries As Title Contenders To Prepare the Lynx
The Golden State Valkyries entered the 2025-26 season as the underdogs. After all, it was their first WNBA season since becoming an expansion team. Plus, going into the playoffs, the team had only the 8th-best record, having won only 23 of their 44 games. In comparison, the Minnesota Lynx finished with a 34-10 record and had won all 4 previous games against the Valkyries. Despite this, Cheryl Reeve wasn’t willing to get too into her head about her team’s chances when going into the playoff series.
During an interview with Terry Horstman, the Lynx head coach said, “I don’t think there’s any titles that would be fair to put on Golden State. Make no mistake about it, we don’t see ourselves as an underdog. We see them as a team that can beat literally any team in this league in a series. Any thoughts different than that would be inappropriate.” As Sports Illustrated’s Jack Haslett highlighted, the Valkyries have had “a historic year”.
Despite having a first-year head coach and a roster gathered mostly from other teams in the Expansion Draft, they got to the playoffs. They, too, were motivated, but by a different factor. As forward Janelle Salaün revealed, “A lot of people didn’t believe in us. That lit a fire for us. It’s a good thing. It’s better to start as an underdog and prove to everyone. I feel like a lot of girls in this team have been in this position, so we did this as a group.”
A lot of people underestimated them. However, Cheryl Reeve wasn’t amongst them. With any luck, she continues holding on to this thought process during the Semi-Finals, too.