New York Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx claiming a much important lead in the WNBA fINALS. Sabrina Lonescue's last-minute pointer was the game-changing moment. She delivered, sinking a 3-pointer from 28 feet with just one second remaining, clinching an 80-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx and putting the Liberty one win away from their first WNBA title. With this win, New York leads the finals 2-1 — marking the first time in franchise history it has been ahead in the championship series. The team can secure the title on Friday night in Minnesota.
Sabrina Ionescu watched as Breanna Stewart dominated the game for the New York Liberty, but when it came to the final moments, the ball was in her hands.
“In the timeout, (coach) Sandy (Brondello) was like, ‘You’re going to shoot the shot,’” Ionescu recalled.
“We know we’re one game away from winning the championship, and I think they are going to give us their best shot. They are going to give everything they have got, and you know what, so are we. The turnaround is quick, but we are going to continue to be ready," said Stewart, who previously won two titles with Seattle.
Ionescu mentioned she needed to watch a replay of her shot after the game to grasp the moment fully. “I didn’t even really remember it. I had to go look at the video really quickly to see like how far I was. I feel like I was able to get a little separation in range and get a really good shot to go," she added.
With the game tied at 77, Ionescu maneuvered before pulling up a few steps behind the arc to break the deadlock with her dramatic shot.
The team’s 45 points in the second half, finishing the game with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots.
“We don’t win this game without Stewie. There’s nothing I can say. That shot’s nice, but what she was able to do for us tonight willed us back into the game," Ionescu added.
The Lynx were unable to get a decent shot to tie at the buzzer. “Great player made a good shot,” Minnesota guard Kayla McBride remarked. “I guarded her for 40 minutes.”
Liberty closer to Title
The Liberty overcame a 15-point deficit to move one win away from their first title.
“There’s a lot of things that we didn’t do right tonight and have a kind of quick memory. I think that we’re happy we got this win but the job’s not done," said stewart
New York has reached the finals five times before, including last season, without winning a championship. Trailing 73-69 with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter, the Liberty scored eight consecutive points, with Jonquel Jones contributing the first five. Ionescu then hit another 3-pointer after a Lynx miss to extend the lead to 77-73 with 55.5 seconds remaining.
Bridget Carleton pulled the Lynx within 77-75 with a layup shortly after. On New York’s next possession, Ionescu had a 3-pointer that seemed to go halfway in before popping out, allowing Minnesota to secure the rebound. Napheesa Collier was fouled with 16 seconds left and converted both free throws to tie the game, setting up a thrilling finish. Collier finished with 22 points, while McBride added 19 for Minnesota.
“Our defense gave us a chance to win the game, period, and our offense is going to help our defense. If you told me that we would have got the amount of stops that we did and we were playing off that, and we wouldn’t have scored 80, that would be surprising to me," said Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve.
Lynx's poor execution
The Lynx reversed the script from the first two games, building a double-digit lead in the first half. Minnesota, which had only led for just over three minutes in the previous contests, was up 60-50 with 2:28 left in the third quarter before the Liberty narrowed it to 62-61 by the end of the period. Stewart scored the final five points, including a three-point play with 19 seconds left.
She then opened the fourth quarter with the first eight points for New York, tying the game at 69 with another three-point play at the 6:18 mark. Carleton hit two free throws to break the tie just 12 seconds later, but neither team scored again until Courtney Williams hit a baseline pull-up with 2:26 left, giving the Lynx a four-point lead.
