It was a moment 28 years in the making.
The New York Liberty outlasted the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals, making it the franchise's first ever title. Jonquel Jones took home Finals MVP honors.
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Minnesota, which forced Game 5 after being 2-1 in the series, led by double digits early before New York came back thanks to a third-quarter surge.
But the game went to overtime when Breanna Stewart made up for missed free throws. Minnesota started the five-minute period slowly with Courtney Williams unable to convert multiple times, and New York built a 7-2 advantage to win 67-62.
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It was the first winner-takes-all overtime game in WNBA Finals history.
Minnesota, as it usually has been, was anchored by Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier. Collier had 22 points on 11 of 23 shooting and made key baskets down the stretch in the build up to overtime. She added seven rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal to her stat line, but noticeably did not attempt a single free throw.
Kayla McBride was the only other Lynx player who stood out, logging 21 points to support Collier on a 7 of 13 clip, with 1 of 6 of those being from deep. She added five rebounds, five assists and four steals, but no other Minnesota player scored more than six points.
The shooting wasn't that better for the Liberty, who saw their two superstars struggle throughout. Stewart went just 4 of 15 from the field, missed all three 3-pointers and made 5 of 8 free throws, with two misses in the final minutes almost proving costly.
The two-time Finals MVP finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal, chipping in everywhere else to earn her third WNBA title. Her previous two came with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020.
Sabrina Ionescu suffered one of the worst shooting performances in Finals history, going a shocking 1 of 19 with a 1-for-10 clip from downtown. She had just five points, but compensated for it with eight assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block.
Jones added 17 points, making all seven foul-line attempts while Nyara Sabally was the unsung hero. Sabally came off the bench and scored 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting off the bench to go with seven rebounds, one steal and a block, with the Liberty supporting cast proving to be more reliable and consistent than Minnesota's.
Prior to the result, New York had never won the WNBA title, going 0-5 all time. It made the 2023 finals but lost to Las Vegas in four games, and also reached the stage in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002.
On the opposite side, the Lynx have won four WNBA titles and were minutes away from a fifth. Minnesota first lifted the title in 2011 and most recently did so in 2017. The other two wins came in 2013 and 2015, a coincidental odd-year stretch.
