Cheryl Reeve had high praise for the Minnesota Lynx after they fell 67-62 to the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals.
“Not one single player got the disease of me,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade them for anyone… any team.
“We did it the hard way,” she added. “I’m incredibly proud of them.”
The Lynx played their brand of defensive basketball from the opening tip in Game 5, holding the top-ranked offense in the regular season to only 67 points, the second-lowest total of the year in the regular season or playoffs. Their defense gave them a puncher’s chance to raise their fifth banner. However, New York made adjustments at the end of the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Lynx struggled to find shots and couldn’t close out the game – regardless of the controversy with the officials.
Minnesota was in top form defensively. Kayla McBride played 42 minutes. Reeve had her almost exclusively matched up on Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who shot 1 of 19 (5.3%). That was her lowest field goal percentage since she went 0 of 5 on May 11, 2022, against the Chicago Sky. Breanna Stewart also struggled against Napheesa Collier, and finished 4 of 15 for 13 points. Liberty rookie Leonie Fiebich also struggled, going 4 of 11 after shooting 54.2% throughout the playoffs.
They also held Finals MVP Jonquel Jones in check. She went 5 of 10 for 17 points, hitting all seven free throws. However, New York’s talent doesn’t stop at their four leading scorers in the postseason. Liberty second-year center Nyara Sabally averages 4.9 points per game during the season on only 3.3 shot attempts in 13.5 minutes. Sabally was crucial for the Liberty, having postseason career highs in points (13) and minutes (17).
Sabally’s contributions ended up being the difference in the game. Because of her performance, it allowed the Liberty to deploy a large lineup in which Jones (6’6”) played center, Sabally (6’5”) played forward, Stewart (6’4”) played small forward, and Fiebich (6’4”) played shooting guard. That meant only Ionescu (5’11”) was the only player under 6’4”.
The difference in size was evident. Alanna Smith (6’4”), Collier (6’2”), and Bridget Carleton (6’1”) were the only Lynx starters above six feet tall. New York’s hyper-big lineup gave the Lynx fits. The Liberty rebounded, crowded the paint, and turned the second half of the game into a physical battle.
The size difference became evident, especially in overtime, where the Lynx went 0 for 6 and only scored two points. Courtney Williams struggled to find space around the basket and from her favorite mid-range spots, shooting 0 for 3 in the extra frame.
As a result of New York’s increase in length, they got tips on passes and started jumping passing lanes – they had three steals in overtime. The Liberty’s bigger lineup didn’t give them an advantage offensively; they only shot 2 of 6 in overtime. However, Sabally’s career night gave them just enough to get across the finish line while grinding the Lynx’s offense to a halt.
That leads to the controversy surrounding the game’s officiating. However, before digging into the details, we should note that the Lynx missed an open three-point shot at the end of regulation that could have won the game. The Liberty also outperformed Minnesota in overtime thanks to the shrewd coaching decision to play with the extra-big lineup.
The Liberty shot 25 free throws to Minnesota’s eight. The Lynx also lost a questionable challenge call on an Alanna Smith foul with just five seconds left in the game, which allowed the Liberty to go to the free throw line and ultimately tie the game 60-60. The WNBA replay system came under fire as the officials on the floor were the same people who reviewed the replay.
“We need to change the challenge rule,” said Reeve. “We need a third-party official,”
Nobody knows if a third-party officiating body would have reversed the call. Still, the official’s explanation on the floor of why the foul held up — Minnesota’s defender wasn’t in a “legal guarding position” — has left fans and media stunned, including LeBron James.
The controversy continued because the replay showed that Stewart traveled during the play, prompting more confusion about the replay system’s ability to get the call right. WNBA officiating has been a topic all season, including after Game 4. It seems to have upset fans of both finals teams because it took away from the celebration of one of the original WNBA teams winning their first championship in their 27-year history.
The Lynx came as close as possible to winning a championship; they were up by two points with five seconds left in regulation. They had a chance to win on a last-second shot but ultimately fell short in overtime. It was a bitter end to a remarkable season.
However, the bright spot for the Lynx may be that they have all five starters under contract for next season. Hopefully, this won’t be the last we see of this group.
