Liberty Gives New York a Championship
They’ve waited nearly three decades for it, but the New York Liberty are finally WNBA champions following a thrilling 67-62 overtime win over the Minnesota Lynx in Brooklyn on Sunday…
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 20: Breanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty reacts at the buzzer after defeating the Minnesota Lynx to win Game Five of the WNBA Finals at Barclays Center on October 20, 2024 in New York City.
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)They've waited nearly three decades for it, but the New York Liberty are finally WNBA champions following a thrilling 67-62 overtime win over the Minnesota Lynx in Brooklyn on Sunday night.
Powered by Brenna Stewart who sank two critical free throws with 10.1 seconds to go in OT, the Liberty concluded the best season in franchise history, while capturing the franchise's first WNBA title. The Liberty had been to five previous WNBA finals, losing all until now.
There’s no feeling like it,” Stewart said. “To bring a championship to New York, first ever in franchise history it’s an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city.”
Celebrate they will. The Liberty not only won their first professional championship title on Sunday night, they became the first pro basketball team in New York to win a title in over 50 years. The last was the Knicks back in 1973.
And in a couple of weeks, the Liberty might be joined by the New York Yankees on the ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes should the Bronx Bombers win the World Series.
As for Game 5 it was a thriller. The Liberty found itself down seven points at the half, and trailed Minnesota by as much as five points with 5:13 to go in the third quarter before storming back.
Nara Sabally put on a show down the stretch of the third quarter, hitting on 3-of-4 from the charity stripe, and knocking down three shots for nine total points as the Liberty took a 47-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
A wild fourth quarter soon came down to a battle between Stewart and Minnesota's Napheesa Collier as the two stars traded buckets for the lead. After a foul Stewart hit on a pair of free throws with five seconds to go to force overtime.
Leonie Fiebach hit the biggest shot of all, a three-pointer right out of the gate in overtime to give New York the lead they would never relinquish.
