Sandy Brondello’s New York Liberty have been stunned by a historic Minnesota comeback in game one of the WNBA powerhouse club’s quest for a first title.
The Lynx triumphed 95-93 in an overtime Finals thriller at Liberty’s pulsing home Barclays Centre court on Friday (AEDT), Napheesa Collier’s turnaround jumper with 8.8 seconds to play the game-winner.
Opals forward Alanna Smith was critical for Minnesota with nine points, nine rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes.
She grabbed the tough rebound that led to Courtney Williams’ go-ahead, four-point play in the final seconds of regular time then made a lay-up to extend their lead in OT.
Lynx were down by as many as 18 points in the first half and trailed by 11 with just over three minutes to play.
But they scored 12 straight to take the lead for the first time with 5.5 seconds remaining thanks to Williams’ huge play.
After a successful review, Liberty star Breanna Stewart was awarded free throws in the final second of regular time to win the game.
She made the first but her second rimmed out, extending the game to overtime.
Stewart again had a chance to tie the game on the buzzer in overtime, driving to the rim only to see her lay-up in traffic bounce out.
“She’s playing against the opposing team’s big and she’s not big, and so if you look at the success that she has in doing that, it’s the reason why we’re sitting here today in the Finals,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Smith’s impact.
The Liberty’s loss, ahead of game two in Brooklyn, heaps the pressure on the foundation franchise and Australian coach Brondello.
Winless in five previous Finals appearance and 3-1 losers at the final hurdle last season, they are attempting to stop Lynx from claiming a league-high fifth title.
Williams had 23 points, Kayla McBride 22 and Collier 21 for Minnesota.
“I just thought we went away from our principles of play,” Brondello said.
“We had a great first quarter and then they lifted up the energy. They out-hustled us.
“We missed a lot of shots. We missed a lot of shots.
“They executed better than us, found a way to win.
“They made some big shots, timeless shots, when they needed to.”
The star-studded New York crowd of 17,732 was loud and spirited as it has been all season.
Spike Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Meek Mill and New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos were all in attendance. Lee was wearing an Ionescu jersey.
With AP
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