Controversial call angers Minnesota Lynx head coach as New York Liberty win first ever WNBA championship
By David Close, CNN
(CNN) — The long wait for the Liberty is over.
After 28 years and five previous Finals appearances, New York are now champions.
In front of a raucous Brooklyn crowd at the Barclays Center, the Liberty defeated a relentless Minnesota Lynx team 67-62 in overtime in a winner-take-all Game 5 of the Finals.
It wasn’t so joyful for the Lynx, as a debatable foul decision left the team’s head coach, Cheryl Reeve, fuming after the final whistle.
With the Lynx up 60-58 and under six seconds remaining in regulation, officials whistled a foul on Minnesota’s Alanna Smith on Liberty forward Breanna Stewart. The two-time league MVP was driving to the hoop and appeared to have minimal contact with Smith as she took a shot.
The Lynx challenged the call, but the decision was upheld after a video review.
“I’m sorry but that wasn’t a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battled tested game,” NBA superstar LeBron James posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Reeve said the call “decided the game,” adding the game – and WNBA championship – was “stolen from us.”
“The officials during the game should have a third party because that was not a foul. That call should have been reversed on that challenge,” she told reporters.
“I know all the headlines will be ‘Reeve Cries Foul.’ Bring it on, right. Bring it on,” Reeve said. “Because this sh*t was stolen from us. Bring it on.”
When asked about Reeve’s complaints, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello told reporters that she respected both her counterpart and the entire Lynx team.
“I thought they were pretty fair,” she said laughing, when asked what she thought about the officials. “I have so much respect for Cheryl and I have so much respect for that Minnesota Lynx team because, man, it was ugly, but we found a way to win.”
Brondello had been highly critical of the officiating after a Game 4 Liberty loss that forced the title decider.
The face of the NY franchise still needed to come up big to force overtime.
Without Stewart, the Lynx may have found themselves dancing to their famed celebratory “Electric Slide” at the buzzer had it not been for two-time Finals MVP.
Stewart stood at the free throw line with nerves of steel-like composure and calmly stroked both charity stripe buckets like no one was watching.
Nyara Sabally was New York’s unexpected star.
Coming into Sunday, she averaged 2.8 points per game in the Finals but came alive to score a crucial 13 points in Game 5.
The former Oregon star made an impact beyond her unforeseen offensive impact. She grabbed seven rebounds and had a key block in OT, stuffing Lynx star Napheesa Collier at the hoop when Minnesota attempted to tie the game late.
The rejection was not lost on anyone after the game. After all, Collier led the WNBA playoffs in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals.
Her teammate Stewart praised Sabally after the game.
“We were trying to do whatever we could. We needed, like a spark and she was that. She continued to trust the process and we are so proud of Ny. So proud,” she said.
How valuable was the German national team member? The typical roleplayer was often matched up to guard Collier and played the entire overtime session.
“That’s what I’ve been working for my all my career – moments like these,” she said after the game during the trophy presentation.
“And to be able to come in here and do this in a Game 5 at home, it just means the world.”
The new star then hugged her sister as tears started to well up in her eyes.
Regardless of the foul controversy, Stewart was a force on the boards, grabbing 15 rebounds to go with her 13 points.
The Liberty’s other big star, Sabrina Ionescu, struggled mightily in the game, scoring just five points on 1-of-19 shooting.
New York’s Jonquel Jones was named the Finals MVP.
The Bahamian was steady Sunday while her teammates couldn’t find their rhythm.
She scored 12 points in two quarters, nearly half of the Liberty’s production. Jones finished with 17 points and six rebounds.
Jones was modest after being handed the prestigious award and the crowd shouting ‘MVP.’
“None of this happens without my teammates and without the people that have poured into me,” she said while acknowledging her mother, her fiancé and others.
The Lynx were up 34-27 at the half. If not for Jones, NY would have been in serious trouble.
The Liberty started stone cold with the Lynx opening the game on a 6-0 run. Jones finally hit a bucket to settle New York’s nerves.
Collier started hot with slashing moves to the basket for several lay-ins. After a Collier bucket to stretch the lead to 19-10 in the first quarter, Brondello called a timeout to stop the momentum. Collier finished the opening quarter with 8 points and a game-high 22 points overall.
With the Lynx up 10, Stewart finally scored her first points in the second quarter.
Despite her shooting woes, Ionescu never relented and dished out key assists.
After the Lynx emerged from their locker room cold, the former University of Oregon guard found Sabally for back-to-back buckets – the second of which put the Liberty up 40-38 and the team’s first lead.
Ionescu was pumped up after the moment – flexing as the buoyant Brooklyn crowd showered her with support.
After the win, Ionescu gave credit to her team.
“[I] just did whatever it took to win. [I] believed in my teammates, believed in this entire organization. It takes everyone; you don’t do this alone.
“God, we did it in New York,” she screamed, much to the delight of the fans.
Those same supporters have a parade to attend.
After the Liberty’s 3-2 series win, New York City Mayor Eric Adams posted on social media that “City Hall and other city buildings will be lit up seafoam in their honor. But that’s not all. We’re throwing these incredible athletes a parade to celebrate all their hard work this season.”
The first WNBA Championship in franchise history will get a ticker tape parade, which is set to start at 10 a.m. ET Thursday.
Organizers said the procession will begin at Battery Park and run north through lower Broadway’s so-called “Canyon of Heroes.”
Following the parade, City Hall will host a ceremony before the team hosts a fan event at Barclays Center that night.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
