Minnesota Lynx defeat New York Liberty in overtime to win Game 1 of the WNBA Finals

CNN
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Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx stunned the New York Liberty after a historic 95-93 overtime victory in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday in Brooklyn, New York.

It was all Liberty in the first quarter, led by power forward Jonquel Jones. She would finish with a game-high 24 points.

Jones scored 10 of 32 points for New York to take a 32-19 lead early in the second quarter.

It was more of the same as the second period began after a 7-0 run that got the Liberty back up to 18 points. The Lynx were able to close the deficit so that the game was 44:36 at halftime.

And the Lynx offense woke up after halftime and made its first four shots to close the gap even further.

It was a back-and-forth affair until the Liberty took control near the end of the third quarter.

Behind Minnesota defenseman Kayla McBride’s 22 points, the Lynx scored 12 unanswered points to claw their way back and make it a three-point game with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.

With the Liberty up 83-80 with about 10 seconds left, Lynx guard Courtney Williams missed a three-pointer, but was able to get the ball back after an offensive rebound and made her second three-point attempt while being fouled by Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu. Williams would make the ensuing free throw to give Minnesota an 84-83 lead, it would be the first of the game.

She would finish with a team-high 23 points.

New York had one more chance to take the lead early in the series and put the ball in the hands of star forward Breanna Stewart. As time expired, Stewart was fouled under the basket, giving the Liberty two free throws. However, she made it the first time and missed the second to force overtime.

Stewart, visibly frustrated with herself, yelled as she walked back to the bench.

It was the sixth overtime game in WNBA Finals history and it did not disappoint. The Lynx jumped out to a four-point lead as the Liberty offense struggled to get out of the gate.

Jones came up big for the Liberty after getting a steal and hitting a layup to tie the game at 93-93 with under 25 seconds left in overtime.

Lynx star Collier was used to scoring big goals for Minnesota during the regular season and postseason, and she did it again on Thursday.

With 8.8 seconds remaining and the score tied, Collier knocked down a turnaround jumper to silence the Barclays Center crowd and give Minnesota a Game 1 win.

The 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year finished with 21 points. She was asked how the team found the strength to win in overtime despite the hectic travel schedule after the semi-final win a few days ago.

“You can’t think about that,” Collier told the ESPN broadcast after the game. “It’s the finale. Nobody cares that you are tired. You can’t say we had a loss because we were just playing, so we just had to find a way to push through without thinking about it.”

The Lynx’s 18-point comeback tied with the 1999 Liberty for the largest comeback in WNBA Finals history.

The Liberty have never won a championship, having lost the Finals five times. The Lynx have four finals rings and are vying for a league record fifth.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET.