New York Liberty storm back vs. Lynx after rough start, win first WNBA title

NEW YORK — It took six tries and 28 years, but the New York Liberty are finally WNBA champions. 

After trailing by as much as 12 and shooting a dismal 28.6% (10 of 35) in the first half, the Liberty came back to beat the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime of Game 5 Sunday night at Barclays Center. Jonquel Jones led New York with 17 points, while Breanna Stewart added 13 points and 15 rebounds.

With Minnesota up 60-58 and 6.3 seconds to play, the Liberty inbounded to Stewart, who got off an awkward shot attempt that looked sure to miss — until a whistle blew and Minnesota’s Alanna Smith was called for a foul, putting Stewart back at the line. With 38.2 seconds left, Stewart had missed two free throws, but she hit both this time, tying the game with 5.2 seconds to play.

The Lynx used their reset timeout to advance the ball, but Kayla McBride’s three was off, and the game headed to extra minutes.

Rookie Leonie Fiebich drained a three on New York’s first possession and it was all Liberty from there. Minnesota went 0-of-6 from the field in overtime and threw the ball away five times.

Fiebich finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

The 2024 title gives the Liberty a dose of redemption after losing the 2023 Finals on their home court last year.

Minnesota had forced a decisive Game 5 by winning Game 4 on a pair of free throws with just two seconds to go, pushing the series back to Brooklyn.

The Liberty were tight early, shooting horribly the first quarter as Minnesota took a 19-10 lead, stunning the crowd into silence. The Lynx had a 34-27 halftime lead after Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu shot a combined 2-of-17 from the field in the first 20 minutes. Ionescu finished a forgettable 1 of 19 but hit a huge three with 3:09 left in regulation to push New York’s lead to two possessions. Ionescu had eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

But things started to turn around for New York when Nyara Sabally entered the game. The Liberty got a huge lift from Sabally, Ionescu’s college teammate, when she came in and scored nine points in 10 minutes, including a layup with 3:07 left in the third that gave New York its first lead of the game.

Sabally also had a key steal and layup early in overtime to give New York a 65-60 lead. She finished with 13 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

Napheesa Collier led the Lynx with 22 points and seven rebounds. McBride had 21 points.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York Liberty storm back vs. Lynx, win first WNBA title