2012 WNBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Indiana Fever Lin Dunn 3 Minnesota Lynx Cheryl Reeve 1
Dates	October 14 – 21
MVP	Tamika Catchings
Hall of Famers	Fever: Tamika Catchings (2020) Lynx: Lindsay Whalen (2022)
Eastern Finals	Indiana defeated Connecticut, 2–1
Western Finals	Minnesota defeated Los Angeles, 2–0
← 2011 WNBA Finals 2013 →

The 2012 WNBA Finals was the series for the 2012 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs.^[1] The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, faced the Indiana Fever, champions of the Eastern Conference. The Fever defeated the Lynx three games to one becoming only the second Eastern Conference franchise to capture a WNBA title.

The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Lynx held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (27–7) than the Fever (22–12). The Lynx were defending their 2011 WNBA Championship. The Fever appeared in the 2009 Finals.^[2]

Background

2012 WNBA regular season

2012 WNBA Playoffs

Indiana Fever

The Indiana Fever finished 22–12, good for second place in the Eastern Conference. The Fever lost their first playoff game against the Atlanta Dream, but rallied to win two straight elimination games, setting up a conference final against the Connecticut Sun. Once again, Indiana lost the first game of the series, but rallied to win two straight to reach the finals for the second time in four years.

Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the WNBA for the second straight year, finishing with a 27–7 record. The Lynx were taken to three games by the Seattle Storm, winning Game 3 by one point. The Lynx then swept the Los Angeles Sparks in the Western Conference Finals, which gave them a chance to defend their 2011 WNBA title.

Regular-season series

The Minnesota Lynx won the season series 2–0:

Series summary

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

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Rosters

Minnesota Lynx roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs C 1 Adair, Jessica 6' 4" (1.93m) 197 lb (89kg) 12-19-1986 George Washington 2 G/F 33 Augustus, Seimone 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) 04-30-1984 LSU 6 F 32 Brunson, Rebekkah 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) 12-11-1981 Georgetown 8 F 6 Harris, Amber 6' 5" (1.96m) 202 lb (92kg) 01-16-1988 Xavier 1 F/C 8 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6' 2" (1.88m) 195 lb (88kg) 08-20-1970 St. Edward's 13 F 23 Moore, Maya 6' 0" (1.83m) 175 lb (79kg) 06-11-1989 Connecticut 1 F 14 Peters, Devereaux 6' 2" (1.88m) 170 lb (77kg) 10-08-1989 Notre Dame R G 5 Thorn, Erin 5' 9" (1.75m) 145 lb (66kg) 05-19-1981 BYU 9 G 13 Whalen, Lindsay 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) 05-09-1982 Minnesota 8 G 11 Wiggins, Candice 5' 11" (1.8m) 147 lb (67kg) 02-14-1987 Stanford 4 G/F 22 Wright, Monica 5' 10" (1.78m) 171 lb (78kg) 07-15-1988 Virginia 2	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 Yrs F 24 Catchings, Tamika 6' 1" (1.85m) 167 lb (76kg) 07-21-1979 Tennessee 10 G/F 11 Christmas, Karima 6' 0" (1.83m) 180 lb (82kg) 09-11-1989 Duke 1 C 50 Davenport, Jessica 6' 5" (1.96m) 215 lb (98kg) 06-21-1985 Ohio State 5 G/F 23 Douglas, Katie 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) 05-07-1979 Purdue 11 F 45 Goodlett, Sasha 6' 5" (1.96m) 239 lb (108kg) 08-09-1990 Georgia Tech R G 20 January, Briann 5' 8" (1.73m) 144 lb (65kg) 01-11-1987 Arizona State 3 F 2 Larkins, Erlana 6' 1" (1.85m) 202 lb (92kg) 04-02-1986 North Carolina 2 G 13 Phillips, Erin 5' 8" (1.73m) 165 lb (75kg) 05-19-1985 Australia 4 G 32 Pohlen, Jeanette 6' 0" (1.83m) 179 lb (81kg) 05-02-1989 Stanford 1 C 8 Sutton-Brown, Tammy 6' 4" (1.93m) 199 lb (90kg) 01-27-1978 Rutgers 11 G 1 Zellous, Shavonte 5' 10" (1.78m) 155 lb (70kg) 08-28-1986 Pittsburgh 3	Head coach Lin Dunn (Tennessee-Martin) Assistant coaches Mickie DeMoss (Louisiana Tech) Stephanie White (Purdue) Athletic trainer Todd Champlin (Daemen) Strength and conditioning coach Emily Novitsky (Slippery Rock) Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured