Nyara Sabally picked a good night to play one of the best games of her life.
In the first overtime winner-take-all Finals game in WNBA history, Sabally had 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench — and connected on a breakaway layup in overtime that proved to be crucial game-sealing points — as the host New York Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in Game 5 Sunday night to win their first championship in franchise history.
It was the first double-digit scoring performance of the postseason for Sabally. Her steal and fastbreak bucket with 3:14 to play put the Liberty ahead 65-60. The Lynx knocked down two free throws to trim the deficit to three points, but never got any closer. Sabally blocked Napheesa Collier’s layup attempt with 1:18 to play, and Breanna Stewart later padded the Liberty lead with two free throws.
“She stayed ready,” Stewart said of Sabally. “And when we needed her most, she was the X-factor tonight. We needed a spark, and she was that.”
The Lynx had the ball with 18.4 seconds to play in overtime with a chance to tie, but Bridget Carleton’s 3-point attempt missed the mark.
Stewart, who never came out of the game, finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and four assists. She hit two free throws at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. It’s the third WNBA championship for Stewart, who previously won two titles with the Seattle Storm.
“I’ve been like, manifesting this moment for a while. There’s no feeling like it,” Stewart, a native New Yorker, said between sips of champagne from the podium. “To be able to bring the first-ever title to the Liberty … I was calm. I was ready. I knew the city was going to have our back. I’m so proud of this team. The city deserves it.”
The Liberty also got 17 points from Jonquel Jones, 13 points from Leonie Fiebich, and five points, eight assists and seven rebounds from Sabrina Ionescu.
Jones was named Finals MVP after averaging 18 points and eight rebounds in the series.
The Liberty won despite Stewart and Ionescu — their two Olympians — combining for 5-of-34 shooting from the floor.
“That was ugly, but we found a way to win,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.
Collier, who fouled out with 13 seconds left in overtime, powered Minnesota with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Kayla McBride had 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Minnesota opened the decisive final game of the season with a 6-0 run and finished the first quarter ahead 19-10. Collier scored eight points in the opening frame and six more in the second. At halftime, the Lynx maintained a seven-point lead.
The momentum of the game seemed to swing in the Liberty’s favor midway through the third quarter when Sabally entered the game. When the second-year forward out of Oregon checked in, the Liberty trailed by five points. At the end of the third quarter — and after Sabally piled up nine points and two rebounds in about four-and-a-half minutes — New York led Minnesota by three points. All three of Sabally’s three field goals in the third frame were assisted by her former Oregon teammate, Ionescu.
“I feel like we just had to settle in, honestly,” Sabally said. “I’m blessed. Look at this arena. This is what I’ve been dreaming of.”
While Sabally soared, Ionescu struggled mightily, missing her first 13 shot attempts from the floor. According to ESPN, it marked the most consecutive misses in a winner-take-all game in WNBA history. Ionescu didn’t make her first field goal until there was 3:10 left to play, as she connected on a 3-pointer from 28 feet on an assist from Stewart that put the Liberty ahead by four points.
A late surge from Minnesota, capped by back-to-back baskets from Collier, gave the Lynx a two-point lead with 1:04 to play. With less than six seconds left, Stewart tied the score after being fouled and then knocked down a pair of free throws.
The Lynx challenged the foul call but it wasn’t overturned. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve focused on that moment in her postgame remarks, calling the foul “marginal, at best.”
“I saw a very physical and aggressive New York team. Sometimes you get away with stuff when you’re physical and aggressive, and they certainly did,” Reeve said. “It’s a shame that officiating had such a hand in a series like this. … We’ve got to change our challenge rules. That was not a foul.”
She added: “The headlines will be ‘Reeve cries foul.’ Bring it on. Because this (expletive) was stolen from us.”
The Liberty went to the free-throw line 25 times, making 21 shots, while the Lynx shot 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. New York also won the rebounding margin (44-33), and scored 10 points off 17 Lynx turnovers.
Brondello is already looking toward next season.
“Let’s not stop at one though,” she said. “Let’s go for two.”
–Field Level Media
