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Déjà vu all over again: Minnesota Lynx v. Indiana Fever

Minnesota and Indiana will meet for the 2015 WNBA Finals in a rematch of the 2012 Finals. The Lynx will look to get revenge on the Indiana underdogs in a very similar matchup between the two teams three years ago.

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

This year's WNBA Finals will be a blast from the past.

In 2012, one of the season's top dogs, the 27-7 Minnesota Lynx, met up with underdogs Indiana Fever, 22-12.

The Lynx returned an entire starting lineup from a 2011 championship squad and were expected to make a return to the Finals.

On the other side of the ball, the Fever upset the East's top-seeded Connecticut to play for the title.

Now, three years later, the script is the same.

Minnesota has remained a Finals favorite with their stifling defense behind the reigning MVP Maya Moore. The Lynx clinched the Western Conference by two games over the defending champions, Phoenix Mercury.

In the conference semifinals, Minnesota took down the on-the-rise Los Angeles Sparks, 2-1, then knocked out the Mercury in the Western Conference Finals, 2-0.

Following Indiana's series upset over New York over in the East, Tamika Catchings openly said no one expected her team to be in this position under first-year head coach Stephanie White.

The Fever had to get through one of the other top teams in the Liberty to even get a shot at the finals. But that is exactly what the three seeded Fever did in the Eastern Conference Finals after taking down the second-seeded Chicago Sky, 2-1.

In 2012, Indiana upset Minnesota and interrupted a three-peat (the Lynx won the 2011 and 2013 titles) with a 3-1 series win to claim its first and only WNBA Championship.

Some familiar faces from the first title fight will have a go at round two.

Four of the 2012 starters remain on the Lynx roster for the rematch—Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson—and they will certainly have one thing on their mind: redemption.

The Fever returns three of its championship starters in Catchings, Briann January, and Shavonte Zellous. The Fever will be able to call upon the experience of those three players on what it takes to overcome its underdog status to win a title.

Key players that have been added to the series are Sylvia Fowles and Marissa Coleman.

Superstars Catchings and Moore are no strangers to the big stage, but these additions to the rematch can make 2015's Finals a whole new ball game.

Fowles was a mid-season addition to the Lynx, adding a powerhouse complex in the post. She is coming off two back-to-back playoff appearances in her seven-year career.

Last season Fowles helped the Chicago Sky reach the Finals for the first time in franchise history.  She is averaging 14 points per game in the postseason.

The three-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year has anchored one of the league's best defense this year, which ranked third in the league in opponents' points per game.

Coleman has appeared in six playoffs in her seven WNBA seasons, last year being her first with the Fever.

Last season she averaged career playoff highs with 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. She earned her first All-Star selection this season.

Minnesota performed a 2-0 series sweep over the Fever in their meetings this season. The first was a 78-69 win in Indiana and the second an 81-65 win in Minnesota.

This year's matchup is eerily similar to the one we saw in 2012 between these two teams. The only question is, this time, which team will prevail?