Liberty persevere in chaotic Game 5 characterized by numerous peculiarities
There have been moments of beauty in the WNBA Finals. Like Napheesa Collier’s winning jumper in Game 1 that capped off a 15-point comeback, or Sabrina Ionescu’s already iconic buzzer-beating 3 in Game 3.
There have been ugly moments, too. Like the agony of Alanna Smith’s repeated back issues, or the heartbreak of Breanna Stewart’s missed free throws in Game 1.
And in Game 5 on Sunday night, it was all ugly. Missed free throws, limbo-low shooting numbers, poor execution, questionable calls. Nothing about it was what a coach would hope for. But in the end, it was beautiful for the New York Liberty. Because the mistakes didn’t matter. The ugliness didn’t hold any power. It was all about the final score, and what that meant to the franchise.
New York defeated Minnesota 67-62 in overtime to claim the organization's first WNBA title after 28 years of trying. That kind of beauty trumps any on-court ugliness.
But for Minnesota, it was all ugliness with no storybook ending. Instead, it ended with coach Cheryl Reeve behind a microphone calling out the officiating.
“All the headlines will be, ‘Reeve cries foul.’ Bring it on,” Reeve said. “Because this s*** was stolen from us.”
Reeve took issue with three major things about the refereeing: the discrepancy in free throws between both teams, the way Napheesa Collier was officiated and a challenge call at the end of regulation.
The Liberty attempted 25 free throws, while the Lynx went to the line eight times, which Reeve felt was unfair.
She also noted that Collier doesn’t get the same calls as other WNBA stars, particularly Stewart.
“This s*** isn’t that hard,” Reeve said of the officiating. “It’s not that hard when someone is being held. Be consistent. If you don’t want to call it on one end, then don’t call it on the other. Every team asks for that.”
For Reeve, the game came down to the final five seconds of regulation.
Stewart drove to the hoop and was met by Smith, who attempted to set her feet and go straight up. A foul was called, which Minnesota ended up challenging. After a lengthy review, the call stood, and Stewart went to the line and swished two free throws.
Reeve said the call should have been overturned.
“It’s a shame that officiating had such a hand in a series like this,” she said. “We have got to change our challenge rules. The officials doing the game should have a third party, because that was not a foul. That call should have been reversed.
“That decided the game.”
The officiating was only part of the overall chaos of the contest.
Collectively, the Liberty and Lynx shot 33.8% from the field and just 11.9% from beyond the arc. The Liberty typically shoot 44.2% from the field and 38.7% from beyond the arc, while the Lynx shoot 47.1% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range.
The hot-shooting performances that characterized the series up until Sunday were nowhere to be found.
For Minnesota, Collier and Kayla McBride scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, but the rest of the starting five combined for just 13 points. Courtney Williams, who averaged 16.3 points over the previous four games, finished with just four points Sunday, going 2-of-14 from the field.
And for the Liberty, Ionescu and Stewart were virtually ice cold the entire game. Ionescu was 1-of-19 shooting, with her only basket coming with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter. On average, she makes 2.8 3-pointers per game, but on Sunday, Ionescu went 1-of-10.
Stewart had her own shooting woes. She finished with 13 points, making four of her 15 attempts. Stewart also missed two free throws with 38 seconds left in regulation when the Liberty trailed by two in a sequence that was reminiscent of her misses in Game 1.
This time, she managed to bounce back and make her next two attempts after the Lynx challenge Reeve mentioned was unsuccessful with five seconds left. Stewart is an 85.4% free-throw shooter.
But despite the poor shooting performance, Stewart was determined to impact the game in other ways. She finished with 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
“I came in with the game plan of, ‘It doesn’t matter,’” she said. “I want to play defense, I want to rebound, I want to do the little things. I’ll continue to be aggressive and shoot my shots, but if they’re not falling, I’m not going to let that affect the way I do things.”
The struggles of the Liberty's stars made way for an unlikely hero. Jonquel Jones earned Finals MVP honors as the lone member of New York’s Big Three to excel on offense with 17 points, but it was the play of Nyara Sabally off the bench that made the biggest difference.
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello prepped Sabally at halftime, letting her know she would be playing extended minutes, and Sabally delivered. In a sea of low-shooting numbers, Sabally was efficient, going 5-of-7 from the field for 13 points and seven rebounds.
“She has that X-factor,” Brondello said. “She has the ability to make one-on-one plays, to rebound the ball, to play great defense. All of it. In the biggest game of her career, she really rose to the occasion. For a young player, that says a lot about her. The future is pretty bright.”
It’s bright for the Liberty organization, too. Because they’ve finally won a title. It didn’t happen the way they would have scripted, but it happened.
“That was ugly,” Brondello said. “But we found a way to win.”
