Team USA Coach Identifies What 'Killed' Lynx Vs. Caitlin Clark, Fever

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who also happens to be the head coach of the USA women's basketball team, admitted that her WNBA team lacked offensively in their showdown against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

For those who missed it, Clark and Co. took down the Lynx during their Sunday showdown, 81-74. Aliyah Boston led the way with a monster double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Clark scored 10 of her 17 points in the final quarter to help the Fever erase a seven-point third quarter deficit and win. Kelsey Mitchell topped the scoring for the Fever with 21 points.

As for the Lynx, no player surpassed the 20-point mark, with forward Alanna Smith leading all Minnesota scorers with 18.

With that said, Reeve felt that their offensive struggles really doomed them.

"I thought defensively, again, we played mostly well enough to win. But our offense put so much pressure on our defense," Reeve explained, per Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

While Minnesota buckled up defensively and took away the Fever's long-distance shooting--with Clark going 2-of-11 from deep and Indiana finishing with a 27.6 percent 3-point clip--their offense still couldn't keep up.

The Fever registered a 44.3 field goal percentage , while the Lynx were just 38.6 percent from the field throughout the game. Indiana's starters (74) also outscored Minnesota's starting unit (64).

"Indiana is not a team that's hung its hat on defense at this point. Our two-point field goal percentage [16-for-39 in the game, 0-for-4 in the fourth quarter] killed us. Some of our attempts, and turnovers at costly times, really hurt us," Reeve added.

The Lynx return to action on Wednesday against the Atlanta Dream. That will be their final game before the WNBA break. Sure enough, Cheryl Reeve will hope to guide Minnesota to victory before she gets to work for Team USA in the Olympics.

Related: Caitlin Clark Fans Roast Team USA Coach After Lynx Lost To Fever