by After 28 seasons, the New York Liberty are finally WNBA champions. This is New York City’s first professional basketball championship since 1973. Although how they won is a controversial topic right now. In a game five win-or-go-home game, the Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx in overtime 67-62. As one of the original members of the WNBA, the Liberty reached the finals for the first time in 1997. They reached the finals again in 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2023. The Lynx, on the other hand, were vying for their fifth WNBA title.
Game 1
As soon as game 1 started, I knew this series would be challenging, and I honestly couldn’t tell who would win it. The Liberty started off strong, gaining a 16-point lead in the first quarter. After allowing the Liberty to drop 32 in the first quarter, the Lynx held them to only 12 points in the second quarter. The game went into halftime with the Liberty leading 44-36. The Lynx were down by 18 at one point, but by the end of the third quarter, they had cut down the Liberty lead to only 7.
In the fourth quarter, the Lynx went on a 14-2 run to bring the score to 83-80. Courtney Williams missed a three-point shot and got her own rebound. She took another three-point shot and was fouled. She made the shot and completed the and-1 to give the Lynx a one-point lead. Breanna Stewart drew a foul with 0.8 seconds left. She made the first shot but missed the second one, which would have won the game. The Lynx started overtime as strong as the Liberty opened the game. With less than 30 seconds remaining, the score was 93-93. Napheesa Collier hit a fade-away jumper to take a 95-93 lead with 8 seconds left. Stewart had the chance to tie the game but missed a layup.
Game 2
The Liberty started game two almost as strongly as game 1. After the first quarter, the Liberty led 31-21. They extended their lead to 46-31 at the half. The Lynx came out of halftime on a mission and closed in on the Liberty to be within four points near the end of the third quarter. However, Breanna Stewart hit two free throws, blocked a shot, and then made a jump shot to close the quarter and give the Liberty a 61-53 lead. The Lynx scored 11 of the first 15 points to start the fourth quarter. However, their efforts would stall, and the Liberty would defeat the Lynx 80-66 to tie the series 1-1.
Game 3
After splitting the games in New York, the two teams traveled to Minnesota. The Liberty’s start rookie, Leonie Fiebich, scored the first five points. These would be the only five points New York would score until taking a timeout with six minutes left in the first quarter. The entire first half was the Lynx holding off the Liberty, taking a 43-35 lead into halftime. Breanna Stewart came out of halftime on fire, scoring 14 points in the third quarter. New York outscored Minnesota 29-19 in the third quarter. They cut the Lynx’s lead to 62-61 at the end of the third. Liberty took a 77-73 lead with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter. Sabrina Ionescu knocks down a 28-foot logo three-pointer to give the Liberty an 80-77 W in game three.
Game 4
Game four was just as crazy as the previous three games. With the WNBA Finals being the best of five, New York was one game away from the Championship. Minnesota knew they would have to play lights out to keep the Liberty from winning on their court. The game started with a more even pace than games one and two. The score after the first quarter was tied at 23 apiece. Leonie Fiebich set the record for the most three-pointers made by a rookie in WNBA history in the second quarter with ten. Game four was neck and neck at halftime, with the Lynx having a two-point edge over the Liberty. The third quarter has the same back-and-forth pace, with the Lynx leading the Liberty 64-63 going into the fourth. With less than thirty seconds remaining in the game, it’s tied at 80. Sabrina Ionescu fouled Bridget Carleton, and Carleton hit both to win the game for Minnesota.
In the post-game interview, the head coach of the New York Liberty, Sandy Brondello, made it very clear that she was unhappy with the calls from the referees. She said the calls were unfair as the Lynx were getting away with hitting Liberty players. On the contrary, the Liberty were getting called for every hit against the Lynx. Below is the full quote:
“It was 14-9 [Liberty fouls to Lynx fouls]. No. All we want is fair, OK. So if we are getting hit, that’s a foul. You know, I’m one of the nicest bloody coaches in this league, but this pisses me off. Just be fair.”
Game 5
Game five started differently, with the Lynx being the team with everything going their way. Two Liberty stars, Stewart and Ionescu, were held scoreless in the first quarter. The Lynx outscored New York 19-10 in the first quarter. The second quarter was more evenly distributed. Although Sabrina Ionescu was again held scoreless in the second quarter. The score going into halftime was 41-27 Lynx.
The Liberty took control of the game in the third quarter, with a score of 47-44 going into the fourth quarter. With three minutes left in the game, Sabrina Ionescu finally scored her first points of the game. In the last five seconds of the game, a controversial foul was called to give Breanna Stewart two free throws. The game was tied at 60 a piece heading into overtime. The Liberty controlled the five-minute overtime period from start to finish. The game ended 67-62, giving New York its first WNBA Title.
Conclusion
Many people, including the head coach of the Lynx, Cheryl Reeve, have spoken about the controversial foul called in the game’s final minute. Reeve stated that the game was “stolen from us” by the referees. I think that the call could have gone either way, and it was called a foul on the floor. I did not see any conclusive evidence to show that the call should have been reversed. However, I can understand why the Minnesota Lynx are upset by the call.
To say this series was crazy from start to finish is an understatement. I didn’t know who would win any of the five games until they were over. Jonquel Jones took home the honor of finals MVP. I believe that if the game had ended with the Lynx winning, Nepheesa Collier would have been named MVP. Overall, this was by far the most entertaining WNBA finals that I have ever seen.
