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WNBA Finals Game 1: New York Liberty cruising at halftime

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WNBA Finals Game 1: New York Liberty cruising at halftime

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BROOKLYN, New York — Some basketball fans may already be wishing this was a seven-game series. 

The WNBA Finals tip Thursday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with the top-seeded Liberty hosting the second-seeded Minnesota Lynx for Games 1 and 2. Games 3 and a potential Game 4 move to Minneapolis and if there’s a Game 5, it’ll be back in Brooklyn. This has been a much-anticipated potential matchup for weeks, with the two best teams meeting for the 2024 title. 

The Liberty are playing in their second consecutive Finals and the sixth in franchise history. They’re 0-5 to this point. Going so deep in the playoffs back-to-back years is quite the accomplishment, but New York players have said repeatedly that they “haven’t done anything yet.” Getting to the Finals and losing, as happened last year, left them with a hollow feeling. They’re looking for something better than that. 

As Sabrina Ionescu said in Vegas, “I don’t see a trophy in our locker room.”

Minnesota has had New York’s number this year, beating the Liberty in three of their four meetings. The Lynx won’t be intimidated by New York, super team or not: coach Cheryl Reeves has won four titles — back when Minnesota vs. the Los Angeles Sparks was the best rivalry in the league — and knows that while her team was initially overlooked, she’s got one of the best players in the world on her roster in Napheesa Collier. 

Speaking of Collier. After Minnesota booked its trip to the Finals, Collier said it would be nice to wrap up the finals, and her first championship, in three games. 

You can bet that comment got back to the Liberty. 

Halftime: Liberty 44, Lynx 36

The Lynx has appeared to settle in. After allowing New York 32 points in the first quarter, Minnesota held New York to 12 points in the second quarter and used a 10-0 run to cut the Liberty’s double-digit lead to eight by halftime. 

Kayla McBride is the only Lynx player in double digits with 10 points and two assists, while Napheesa Collier has eight points and two rebounds. The Lynx are shooting 43.3% from the field and 3-of-10 from three. 

Jonquel Jones leads the Liberty with 13 points and four rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu has 11 points, two steals and three rebounds. The Liberty are shooting 40.5% from the field and 6-of-20 from three and out-rebounding the Lynx 21-14, including 10 offensive rebounds. – Cydney Henderson

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Goodness, New York looks good — and experienced. While Minnesota feels out the WNBA Finals, which are new to this particular Lynx squad — the Liberty look right at home, and not only because this game is being played in Barclays.

The scoreboard says New York is up eight, but it feels like 18 (and for stretches during the first half, it felt like 80). The Lynx have settled in somewhat since tip, but they’re still not completely in sync.

The fact that New York has 18 fast-break points is not going to sit well with Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve. You can bet that’ll be a talking point at halftime.

The most impressive stat from the first 20 minutes might be Jonquel Jones’ zero fouls. The Lynx have no answer for Jones — especially when Breanna Stewart is also on the floor — and keeping her in the game, when she’s sometimes prone to foul trouble, could make a huge difference this series. – Lindsay Schnell

The Liberty looked energized out of the gate and jumped to a 16-point lead in the first quarter, while the Lynx looked a little sluggish. The Liberty had three days of rest after closing their semifinal series against the Las Vegas Aces in four games Sunday, whereas the Lynx came into Game 1 of the WNBA Finals with only one day of rest after winning a five-game series against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday.  

“It doesn’t matter if we are tired, we have to push through,” said Napheesa Collier, who has four first-quarter points. 

New York’s Jonquel Jones immediately impacted the game, scoring 10 points and grabbing three rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu also got started early with eight points (2-of-4 on 3-pointers). The Liberty have a size advantage in the series and controlled the boards early in the game, out-rebounding the Lynx 12-5 in the first quarter, including six offensive rebounds. New York dominated the paint (14 points) and converted three turnovers from the Lynx into eight points.

Minnesota’s Courtney Williams and New York’s Breanna Stewart are both in foul trouble early with two. – Cydney Henderson

Filmmaker Spike Lee has been a mainstay during the New York Liberty’s playoff run. Game 1 of the WNBA Finals was no different. Lee is among the star-studded crowd at Barclays Center that also includes actor and Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis. Both have been long-time basketball fans and have attended games this season involving Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, as well as postseason action in New York. – Cydney Henderson and Heather Tucker

Three UConn Huskies in 2024 WNBA Finals 

The 2024 WNBA Finals feature three UConn Huskies —  the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart and the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and Dorka Juhász.

“No matter what happens, we win,” UConn women’s basketball tweeted ahead of Game 1 Thursday. 

When asked who UConn’s head coach Geno Auriemma is rooting for in the championship series, Collier jokingly declared that Auriemma should be going for the Lynx because “we’ve got two.” – Cydney Henderson

Who is playing in the WNBA Finals?

The New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx.

When is Game 1 of the WNBA Finals?

Game 1 of the WNBA championship series between the Liberty and Lynx is Thursday at 8 p.m. ET at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

How to watch Game 1 of the WNBA Finals

Game 1 will be broadcast on ESPN with Ryan Ruocco (play-by-play), Rebecca Lobo (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) on the call.

How to stream Game 1 of the WNBA Finals

Game 1 can be streamed on ESPN+ or the ESPN App, in addition to Fubo.

WNBA Commissioner: Finals expanding to seven games next year

Want more women’s basketball? You got it. 

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the Finals will be expanded to a best-of-seven game series, similar to the NBA format, starting next year. Engelbert made the announcement ahead of Game 1 of the 2024 Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, which will mark the last iteration of the best-of-five game championship series. 

Next year, the first round will be best-of-three, the semifinal round will be best-of-five and the championship series will be up to seven games.

“This will give our fans a championship series format that they are accustomed to seeing in other sports,” Engelbert said.

The best-of-three opening round will change to a 1-1-1 format to allow the lower-seeded team a chance to play at home. The best-of-five series will remain 2-2-1 and the best-of-seven series will follow a 2-2-1-1-1 format. 

 – Cydney Henderson

The Lynx have an edge when it comes to their head-to-head record. Minnesota won two of the three regular-season matchups against the Liberty. The teams last faced off Sept. 15, when the Lynx came away with an 88-79 victory on the road at Barclays Center.

New York Liberty’s path to the WNBA Finals

First round (best-of-three): No. 1 Liberty vs. No. 8 Atlanta Dream

  • Game 1: Liberty 83, Dream 68
  • Game 2: Liberty 91, Dream 82

Liberty advance 2-0

Semifinals (best-of-five): No. 1 Liberty vs. No. 4 Las Vegas Aces

  • Game 1: Liberty 87, Aces 77
  • Game 2: Liberty 88, Aces 84
  • Game 3: Aces 95, Liberty 81
  • Game 4: Liberty 76, Aces 62

Liberty advance 3-1

Minnesota Lynx’s path to the WNBA Finals

First round (best-of-three): No. 2 Lynx vs. No. 7 Phoenix Mercury

  • Game 1: Lynx 102, Mercury 95
  • Game 2: Lynx 101, Mercury 88

Lynx advance 2-0

Semifinals (best-of-five): No. 2 Lynx vs. No. 3 Connecticut Sun

  • Game 1: Sun 73, Lynx 70
  • Game 2: Lynx 77, Sun 70
  • Game 3: Lynx 90, Sun 81
  • Game 4: Sun 92, Lynx 82
  • Game 5: Lynx 88, Sun 77

Lynx advance 3-2

  • Game 1, Thursday: Lynx at Liberty; 8 p.m. (ESPN)
  • Game 2, Sunday: Lynx at Liberty; 3 (ABC)
  • Game 3, Wednesday, Oct. 16: Liberty at Lynx; 8 (ESPN)
  • Game 4*, Friday, Oct. 18: Liberty at Lynx; 8 (ESPN)
  • Game 5*, Sunday, Oct. 20: Lynx at Liberty; 8 (ESPN)
  • (All times Eastern; best-of-five series; * – if necessary)
  • Nancy Armour: New York in 4
  • Scooby Axson: New York in 4
  • Cydney Henderson: New York in 5
  • Jordan Mendoza: New York in 4
  • Lindsay Schnell: New York in 5

The Liberty are in pursuit of their first championship. New York got close last year — the Liberty made it all the way to the 2023 WNBA Finals before losing to the Las Vegas Aces in four games. The Liberty have made WNBA Finals appearances six times (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2023 and 2024).

The Lynx have four titles. In a span of seven years, the Lynx won four WNBA championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) and made six Finals appearances, led by the group of Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Maya Moore, Rebekkah Brunson and Sylvia Fowles. The 2024 WNBA Finals will mark the Lynx’s first championship appearance since their 2017 title.

The Liberty is the favorite to win the WNBA championship, according to BetMGM, with the money line set at the Liberty (-275) and the Lynx (+225).

The Golden State Valkyries, one of three new franchises in the WNBA, named Natalie Nakase as the team’s first head coach during a news conference Thursday.

Nakase comes from the Las Vegas Aces, where she was an assistant under Becky Hammon for the past three seasons and was part of the team that won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. She now becomes the first female Asian-American coach in WNBA history.

Nakase remembers watching the Golden State Warriors, who also own the Valkyries, win the 2015 NBA Finals and thinking how much fun the team was having under its ownership. She wanted to work for Golden State, and now she’ll get the chance to lead the WNBA team in its inaugural season. – Jordan Mendoza

Sabrina Ionescu brought back the floater. It carried the Liberty to the Finals

Sabrina Ionescu couldn’t score. 

In Walnut Creek, California, Ionescu was a short, scrawny sixth-grader playing on an eighth-grade boys team with her twin brother Eddy. Male defenders were considerably bigger and stronger, bumping her and altering her shot. Most days, Ionescu couldn’t get close to the rim. 

So the guard who would set an NCAA record in triple doubles in college (26) figured it was time to add something to her skill set. She developed a floater. 

Fifteen years later, that floater has become maybe the deadliest shot in the WNBA playoffs and a key piece of the New York Liberty’s run to its second consecutive Finals appearance. The Liberty host the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 on Thursday at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn in the best-of-five series. – Lindsay Schnell

Caitlin Clark rewrites WNBA record books. Again. And again.

The Fever rookie made headlines all summer with her head-turning play. Revisit her accomplishments in this graphic.

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