Lynx fall short as Liberty claim first WNBA title

An epic WNBA Finals ended in heartbreak for the Minnesota Lynx.

New York outscored Minnesota 7-2 in overtime, and the Liberty beat the Lynx 67-62 Sunday in Brooklyn to win the franchise’s first title.

If not for a dismal third quarter and missing all six shots in overtime, there could have been a championship parade soon in Minneapolis.

Instead, Leonie Fiebich hit a 3 right away in overtime, then Nyara Sabally had a layup off a Lynx turnover for a 65-60 New York lead with 3:14 left.

Kayla McBride made a couple free throws to get the Lynx within three with 1:51 to play in the extra session, but Minnesota did not score again. Out of a timeout, Bridget Carleton missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game with 13 seconds to go.

The Lynx turned the ball over six times in the extra frame.

Hoisting of the trophy concludes an epic series between the league’s top two teams where 5.2 points was the average margin of victory, including a Lynx overtime win in Game 1, Sabrina Ionescu’s long 3 in Game 3 for New York and Carleton’s two late free throws in Game 4 to tie the series.

So, of course, this one had to go down to the final minutes of regulation before a free five minutes of basketball.

Down by two, and out of a timeout with 5.2 seconds left, New York’s Breanna Stewart was fouled by Alanna Smith — a call upheld by video review — and sank both free throws to tie the game. A 3-point shot by McBride went off the front of the rim with 3.6 seconds left.

A driving layup by Napheesa Collier tied the game 58-all with 1:35 left, Stewart missed two free throws with 38.2 seconds left, and Ionescu missed a trey three seconds later. Collier missed a jumper with 6.4 seconds left.

Out in transition, McBride delivered a textbook bounce pass to Natisha Hiedeman for a layup and a 50-49 Lynx lead with 5:29 left, Minnesota’s first lead in nearly 8½ minutes.

A 3-pointer by Ionescu — her first make after starting 0 for 14 — and a layup by Stewart were sandwiched around a Collier basket for a 58-54 Liberty lead .

Collier led the Lynx with 22 points and seven rebounds before fouling out late. McBride scored 21, but no other Lynx player was in double figures.

The Lynx led by 12 in the second quarter and 34-27 at the half.

However, the Lynx were ice cold offensively in the third quarter. Minnesota was 3 of 14 from the field, and was outscored 20-10 as the Liberty took a 47-44 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Trying to defend a Liberty team that was getting the ball inside to Jonquel Jones and Sabally, the increasingly frustrated Lynx were whistled for seven fouls resulting in New York shooting 6 of 13 from the field and 8 of 9 from the free throw line.