INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride scored 29 points, Jessica Shepard got the second triple-double in franchise history, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 95-90 on Friday night.
The Lynx (29-7) snapped a two-game losing streak and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
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Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark cheers during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Minnesota Lynx's Alanna Smith (8) shoots against Indiana Fever's Aliyah Boston during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Indiana Fever's Lexie Hull (10) is defended by Minnesota Lynx's Courtney Williams (10) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Minnesota Lynx's Jessica Shepard (15) goes to the basket against Indiana Fever's Natasha Howard (6) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Minnesota Lynx's Kayla McBride (21) is defended by Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell (0) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Shepard finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists on 10-for-11 shooting while playing all 40 minutes. She joined Moriah Jefferson as the only Lynx players to record triple-doubles in franchise history.
She completed her triple in just 21:57 of action, the fastest in WNBA history. Previously, the record was set by Seattle’s Skylar Diggins on July 28, at 22:51 of play.
McBride added five assists, and was 10 for 19 from the field. Natisha Hiedeman had 17 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 27 points to lead Indiana (19-17), and Lexie Hull had a career-high 23.
Shepard had a double-double at the half with 11 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. Minnesota took the lead for good off Shepard's driving layup early in the third quarter, and outscored the Fever 32-17 in the period.
With four minutes remaining in the game, Indiana went on a 10-4 run, but their comeback came up just short.
Shey Peddy started off her Fever career with three straight 3-pointers after joining the team on a seven-day hardship contract on Wednesday. She finished with 10 points in 16 minutes.
Caitlin Clark missed her 14th straight game with a right groin injury.
The teams last met in the Commissioner's Cup championship on July 1, a 74-59 Indiana victory.
Lynx host the Fever in the second game of a home-and-home on Sunday.
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Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark cheers during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Minnesota Lynx's Alanna Smith (8) shoots against Indiana Fever's Aliyah Boston during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Indiana Fever's Lexie Hull (10) is defended by Minnesota Lynx's Courtney Williams (10) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Minnesota Lynx's Jessica Shepard (15) goes to the basket against Indiana Fever's Natasha Howard (6) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Minnesota Lynx's Kayla McBride (21) is defended by Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell (0) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.
Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.
She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.
The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.
On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.
Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.
The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.
American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.
For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.
Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”
Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.
Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
