Lynx coach Reeve suspended for one game, fined $15,000 after Game 3

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was suspended for one game and fined $15,000 by the WNBA after she confronted and criticized officials during and after Friday night’s Game 3 loss to the Phoenix Mercury, the league announced Saturday. The suspension kept Reeve off the sideline for Sunday’s Game 4, in which the Lynx, already shorthanded by the loss of All-Star Napheesa Collier to an ankle injury, were eliminated from the semifinals in an 86-81 defeat that ended Minnesota’s season.

The league said Reeve’s punishment stemmed from her conduct during Game 3, including aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, failing to leave the court in a timely manner after being ejected with 21.8 seconds remaining, making inappropriate comments to fans while exiting, and remarks made at a postgame press conference. A person familiar with the penalty said the $15,000 fine is believed to be the largest levied against an individual coach or player in league history.

Reeve had been ejected late in the contest after stepping onto the floor to argue about contact on Collier, who left Game 3 with what the team described as an ankle injury and did not play in Game 4....