As the confetti came down on Sunday night in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the WNBA season came to a dramatic ending after a five game series for the championship between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx were searching for their fifth WNBA championship and their first since 2017, while the Liberty were seeking their first WNBA title ever.
Game one was held in New York because the Liberty obtained the top seed in the playoffs. Minnesota was down significantly early; however, an 18-point deficit at the half was erased by the Lynx, who took the victory in overtime off a turnaround jumper from forward Napheesa Collier with eight seconds on the clock to win 95-93. Guard Courtney Williams and guard Kayla McBride let the team in points with 23 and 22 points respectively. Liberty forward Jonquel Jones finished the game with 24 points, but it wasn’t enough to halt the comeback.
In Game two, the Liberty got their revenge with an emphatic 14-point victory 80-66 at home against the Lynx. The scoring for the Liberty was led by forward Breanna Stewart with 21 points with help from forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton who contributed 20 points. Lynx’s Collier had 16 points, but with the Liberty limiting the Lynx to only 27 points in the second half, they moved into game three on the road tied at 1-1.
In Game three, the game was once again decided by a last-second play as Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu drained the game-winning three-pointer from 28 feet with one second left on the game clock to give New York a 2-1 lead in the series, winning 80-77. The Liberty erased a 15-point deficit to put them one game away from their first championship. Stewart led the Liberty once again with a 30-point, 11-rebound double-double including 22 of the 45 Liberty points in the second half. Collier led the Lynx with 22 points on 9-22 shooting from the floor.
Game four was a do-or-die game for the Lynx, and they were able to pull out a 2-point victory on game-winning free throws by forward Bridget Carleton, winning 82-80. Liberty’s Jones led the team in scoring with 21 points on the night, followed by forward Leonie Fiebich with 19 points. With all five starters for the Lynx putting up double digits in the scoring column, they moved back to Brooklyn for a dramatic win or go home game five.
Game five was the perfect finale to the 5-game series, with an overtime thriller. Tied at 60, the Liberty took a 5-point lead in overtime and was able to hoist the championship for the first time in team history with a 67-62 victory. Collier and McBride combined for 43 points for the Lynx, but it wasn’t enough as Jones and Stewart led the Liberty to a title that will be cherished by the entire franchise forever.
