NEW YORK — The New York Liberty had Game 1 in the palm of their hands.
Up 15 points with 5:20 to play on their home court, facing a Minnesota Lynx team that had just gone to five games against the Connecticut Sun and didn’t even have a chance to practice before the WNBA Finals, the Liberty simply had to put the finishing touches on a comfortable series-opening victory.
Instead, the Lynx clawed back and stole an absolute heartbreaker from New York. Courtney Williams gave Minnesota its first lead of the game on a four-point play with 5.5 seconds to play, oddly coming on an offensive rebound on a night when the Lynx were otherwise destroyed on the glass.
The Liberty forced overtime, but the momentum had switched. Minnesota took a quick four-point lead in overtime, and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier closed it out with a jumper and stout defense on Breanna Stewart on the other end.
It’s the first WNBA Finals series featuring UConn greats leading their respective teams, and the younger Collier got the better of her former mentor and future Unrivaled business partner Stewart as the Lynx came away with a shocking 95-93 win in overtime.
The game deciding shot by Napheesa Collier is NASTY 😈
THE @minnesotalynx TAKE GAME 1 OF THE #WNBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV WITH A FINAL SCORE OF 95-93 pic.twitter.com/4DO4NXLoG5
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 11, 2024
Minnesota turned to a small lineup down the stretch, replacing center Alanna Smith with point guard Natisha Hiedeman, and the switch flustered New York. The Lynx were already struggling to rebound, so downsizing didn’t add any additional complications on the glass, while the pace juiced their offense.
The Liberty couldn’t defend five shooters, and Minnesota hit jumpers on six of the next nine possessions to close the gap.
New York didn’t utilize its size advantage inside, as Jonquel Jones couldn’t get enough touches on the final possessions. Once the Lynx were in striking distance, they had the confidence of a team that went 3-1 against the Liberty prior to the finals, including a win on this court less than one month ago.
Williams led the way with 23 points, followed closely by Kayla McBride’s 22 and Collier’s 21. Hiedeman chipped in 10 off the bench and Minnesota totaled nine blocks and eight steals to do just enough to contain New York’s offense in the closing minutes. The Lynx take a 1-0 series lead into Game 2 on Sunday.
WNBA Finals score and live updates: Minnesota Lynx come back to beat New York Liberty in OT
Liberty’s offense goes cold during key stretches
As the Liberty watch the film, they will find two stretches that significantly contributed to their eventual defeat. The team led 41-24 with 5:14 to go after Stewart hit a 12-foot jumper. Then their offense went cold, scoring only three points the rest of the half and allowing Minnesota to slice its deficit to eight.
In the fourth quarter, the Liberty led by 15 points with 5:20 to play but scored only three points for the rest of regulation as the Lynx’s defense again stiffened. Combined over the final five-plus minutes of regulation and the first 3:19 of overtime, New York scored only three points. — Ben Pickman, WNBA staff writer
Williams comes alive in the second half
Williams hit Game 1’s biggest singular shot — a four-point play with 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation — but her impact went beyond just that look. Williams scored 15 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, silencing Liberty fans inside Barclays Center on multiple occasions. She wasn’t alone, of course, as McBride and Collier both scored more than 20 points, but Williams again made timely shots.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has praised Williams’ impact throughout the postseason, but no sequence will better define her Minnesota tenure than her closing stretch of Game 1. — Pickman
They’ve been down but not out, Courtney Williams gets the and-1 after being fouled beyond the arc 😱#WNBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/ohHOLP9upG
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 11, 2024
Required reading
(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)