Liberty choke away big Game 1 lead in brutal overtime loss to Lynx

Sandy Brondello and the Liberty stressed throughout this season how much they prioritized securing home-court advantage for the entire postseason with this specific game in mind, the opener of the WNBA Finals. 

Then they coughed up that advantage in the most ridiculous way imaginable. 

Beginning the final leg of their quest to finally capture the first league title in franchise history, the top-seeded Liberty flushed an 18-point first-half lead and a 15-point cushion with five minutes remaining in regulation in an absolutely stunning 95-93 overtime loss to the Lynx in Game 1 at a hushed Barclays Center. 

“We just take it on the chin,” Breanna Stewart said afterward. “We were up a lot. We had a wild kind of sequence to end the fourth [quarter]. We didn’t start overtime great, but I had a great look at the end. 

“I didn’t make it, but I think that this is a series. We wanted to really win, obviously, for home court. But the beauty is we have another game on Sunday and we’ll be ready.” 

Minnesota’s Courtney Williams converted a Larry Johnson-esque four-point play with 5.1 seconds remaining in regulation — and she scored five points in the final 1:17 of overtime — for the Lynx’s fourth win in five games against the Liberty this year with Game 2 back in Brooklyn on Sunday. 

“The basketball gods were on our side tonight,” Williams said. 

Jonquel Jones posted 24 points and 10 rebounds and rookie Leonie Fiebich scored 17. 

But they couldn’t fully offset a combined 14-for-47 shooting night by Stewart (18 points) and Sabrina Ionescu (19) as the Liberty gave away home-court advantage.

They’d stressed the importance of securing it throughout the playoffs after dropping the first two games in last year’s Finals in Las Vegas en route to a crushing four-game elimination. 

“I just thought we went away from our principles of play,” Brondello said. “We had a great first quarter, but they lifted up the energy and out-hustled us. 

“And we missed a lot of shots. A lot of shots. They executed better than us. That’s what it came down to. And they found a way to win. … We’re disappointed, and we have to be better. We’re a better team than we showed tonight.” 

The top-seeded Libs also lost twice in three games against the No. 2 Lynx during the regular season and a third time in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup. 

Napheesa Collier, the runner-up for league MVP this year and a former teammate of Stewart’s at UConn, scored 21 points, while Williams finished with 23 and Kayla McBride had 22 for Minnesota. 

“They’ve had our number this year,” Brondello said before the game. 

The Liberty came out firing from the opening tap and led 39-21 in the second quarter and still were up 60-50 in the third quarter. 

The home crowd erupted a few more times in the fourth, most notably following 3-pointers by Stewart and Fiebich for a 12-point advantage with under seven minutes to play. 

Minnesota didn’t go quietly, cutting it back to three on inside buckets by Collier and Williams with 42.5 seconds to go.

A shot-clock violation by the Liberty gave the Lynx a chance at least to tie, but they took the lead when Williams was fouled by Ionescu on a made 3-pointer and sank the ensuing free throw for an 84-83 lead with 5.1 seconds to go.

That was the Lynx’s first lead of the game. 

Stewart tied the score but missed one of two free throws after she was fouled by Collier underneath the basket on a last-second inbounds pass with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation. 

Williams also helped the Lynx go up by four with under a minute to play in overtime, but consecutive steals and baskets by both Ionescu and Jones drew them even at 93-all with 28.5 seconds left. 

After Collier sank a 12-footer to regain the lead with 8.8 ticks left, Stewart missed a driving layup in traffic as time expired. 

“I had probably one of my cleanest looks but didn’t make it,” Stewart said. “Listen, I want to be taking these shots. … So it’s kind of like, ‘Onto the next.’ Obviously it’s very frustrating, but we’ll bounce back for Game 2.”