Liberty capture first WNBA crown

NEW YORK — As confetti fell and Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" blared through the arena, the New York Liberty celebrated the end of a 27-year odyssey.

The team that always fell short, starting from its days in Madison Square Garden, through detours to Radio City Music Hall and Westchester County Center, finally found its way to the top.

Start spreading the news, indeed: There's finally a pro basketball champion in New York again after a 67-62 overtime win over Minnesota in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday night.

"I've been manifesting this moment for awhile. There's no feeling like it," Breanna Stewart said. "Credit to Minnesota, they gave us a tough series. The fans have been amazing everywhere we've gone. To bring a championship to New York, first ever in franchise history it's an incredible feeling. I can't wait to continue to celebrate with the city. It's going to be bonkers."

Jonquel Jones scored 17 points to lead New York, which was one of the original franchises in the league. The Liberty made the WNBA Finals five times before, losing each one, including last season. This time they wouldn't be denied, although it took an extra five minutes.

With stars Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggling on offense, other players stepped up. Leonie Fiebich started off OT with a 3-pointer, and then Nyara Sabally had a steal for a layup to make it 65-60 and bring the sellout crowd to a frenzied state.

"Whoever scores in overtime first usually wins," Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.

Minnesota didn't score in OT until Kayla McBride hit two free throws with 1:51 left. The Lynx missed all six of their field goal attempts in overtime. After Ionescu missed a shot with 21 seconds left, her 18th miss on 19 shot attempts, the Lynx had one last chance, but Bridget Carleton missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left.

Stewart, who missed a free throw with 0.8 seconds left in the end of regulation in Game 1, hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds left in overtime to seal the victory.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock the players hugged and streamers fell from the rafters. Stewart and Jones hugged. The two prize free agent signees two years ago that helped get this team its first title.

New York trailed by two in regulation when Stewart was fouled with 5.2 seconds left. After a lengthy video review, Stewart calmly hit two free throws to tie the game at 60.

McBride, who finished with 21 points, had an open look for a 3, but it fell off the rim and the game went to OT.

Many of the former Liberty greats were in the audience, including Teresa Weatherspoon, who hit a half-court heave in the 1999 WNBA Finals to force a decisive Game 3 that year. That was the last time that New York had a chance to play in a championship-deciding game until this year.

Jones, who was the only player on the Liberty to compete in a Game 5 before when she was with Connecticut in 2019, earned MVP honors.

"I could never dream of this. You know how many times I've been denied. It was delayed. I am so happy to do it here," she said.

Napheesa Collier scored 22 points to lead Minnesota before fouling out with 13 seconds left in OT.

The WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year played all but 35 seconds of the 45-minute game, and most of what she missed is because she committed the foul to stop the clock with 13 seconds remaining in OT.

It was clearly a fantastic season for the forward, who averaged 20.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in her sixth year out of UConn. She also won a gold medal with the US Olympic team and helped the Lynx notch a franchise-record 30 wins and earn the No 2 seed.

But if Game 5 plays out differently, she might have also picked up a WNBA Finals MVP trophy, joining the elite Lynx players from the past to have done so.

The Lynx were trying for a record fifth WNBA title, breaking a tie with the Seattle Storm and Houston Comets. Minnesota won four titles from 2011-17 behind the core group of Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore. That was the team's last appearance in the WNBA Finals until this year.

"Congratulations to the Liberty on their first championship," Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. "It took them 28 years, congrats to them. We were that close to our fifth, it just didn't happen."

This is the first time since 2019 that the WNBA Finals have gone the distance. Since the league switched to a best-of-five format in 2005, seven other series have gone to a Game 5 and the home team had won five of those previous contests, including in 2019.

The first three games each had over a million viewers on average, with the audience growing for each contest. They also have had huge crowds in attendance.

Liberty fan Spike Lee was courtside over an hour before tipoff chatting with the media while wearing his Ionescu jersey. Once Ionescu finished warming up pregame, the pair had a brief exchange and hugged. Lee was part of a sellout crowd of 18,090 that helped this series set both the overall attendance record for a WNBA Finals as well as the average attendance mark.

Title was 'stolen'

Coach Reeve said the championship was "stolen" from the Lynx during her complaints about the officiating Sunday night.

The New York Liberty beat the Lynx in overtime, getting there after a disputed foul gave Stewart two free throws that tied the game with 5.2 seconds remaining in regulation.

"We know we could have done some things, right, but you shouldn't have to overcome to that extent," Reeve said. "This s--- ain't that hard. Officiating is not that hard."

Reeve, who has led the Lynx to four WNBA championships and coached the US women to an Olympic gold medal this summer in Paris, said she was aware there would be headlines about her complaining.

"Bring it on," she said, "because that s--- was stolen from us."

The Liberty shot 25 free throws, while the Lynx went 7 for 8. Minnesota was called for 21 fouls to New York's 17, with All-Star forward Collier, the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year, fouling out.

Reeve took particular issue with the foul on Alanna Smith with Minnesota holding a 60-58 lead. Stewart drove into the lane and appeared to take the shot before there was any contact. The Lynx challenged the call, but it was upheld after video review.

Reeve called the contact "marginal at best".

"This sucks," she said, after mentioning faulty officiating in Minnesota's loss in the 2016 WNBA Finals. "This is for a championship, for both teams. Let them decide it. What contact is legal should be the same for both teams."

Agencies via Xinhua