Courtney Williams and Lynx beat Liberty in WNBA Finals Game 1 OT thriller: Key insights
NEW YORK – The New York Liberty had Game 1 in the palm of their hands.
Leading by 15 points with 5:20 to play on their home court, facing a Minnesota Lynx team that had just played five games against the Connecticut Sun and hadn’t even had a chance to practice for the WNBA Finals, the Liberty just had to lay putting the finishing touches on a comfortable opening win in the series.
Instead, the Lynx clawed back and stole an absolute heartbreaker from New York. Courtney Williams gave Minnesota its first lead of the game on a four-point play with 5.5 seconds to play, oddly corralling an offensive rebound on a night when the Lynx were otherwise destroyed on the glass.
The Liberty forced overtime, but the momentum had reversed. Minnesota took a quick four-point lead in overtime, and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier closed the game with a jumper and some solid defense on Breanna Stewart at the other end.
It’s the first WNBA Finals series in which UConn greats lead their respective teams, and the younger Collier got the upper hand over her former mentor and future peerless business partner Stewart as the Lynx came away with a shocking 95-93 victory in overtime.
Napheesa Collier’s game-deciding shot is NASTY 😈
THE @minnesotalynx TAKE GAME 1 OF THE #WNBAFinales presented by @YouTubeTV WITH A FINAL SCORE OF 95-93 pic.twitter.com/4DO4NXLoG5
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 11, 2024
Minnesota turned to a small lineup down the stretch, replacing center Alanna Smith with point guard Natisha Hiedeman, and the switch left New York in disarray. The Lynx were already struggling to recover, so the cutback didn’t add any additional complications on the glass while the pace put pressure on their offense.
The Liberty couldn’t defend five shooters and Minnesota hit jumpers on six of the next nine possessions to close the gap.
New York didn’t take advantage of its size advantage inside, as Jonquel Jones couldn’t get enough traction on the final possessions. Once the Lynx were within striking distance, they had the confidence of a team that had gone 3-1 against the Liberty prior to the final, including a win on this field less than a month ago.
Williams led the way with 23 points, followed closely by Kayla McBride’s 22 and Collier’s 21. Hiedeman scored 10 points off the bench and Minnesota totaled nine blocks and eight steals to do just enough to keep New York’s offense in check in the closing minutes. The Lynx take a 1-0 series lead in Game 2 on Sunday.
WNBA Finals Score and Live Updates: Minnesota Lynx return to defeat New York Liberty in OT
Liberty’s offense goes cold during key stretches
As the Liberty watch the film, they will discover two plays that contributed significantly to their eventual defeat. The team led 41-24 with 5:14 to go after Stewart hit a 12-foot jumper. Then their offense went cold and scored only three points the rest of the half, allowing Minnesota to cut the deficit to eight.
In the fourth quarter, the Liberty led by 15 points with 5:20 to play, but scored only three points the remainder of regulation as the Lynx defense stiffened again. Combined during the final five minutes of regulation time and the first 3:19 of overtime, New York scored just three points. – Ben Pickman, WNBA staff writer
Williams comes alive in the second half
Williams hit the biggest singular shot of Game 1 — a four-point play with 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation — but her impact went beyond just that look. Williams scored 15 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, silencing Liberty fans at Barclays Center several times. She wasn’t alone, of course, as McBride and Collier both scored more than 20 points, but Williams again made timely shots.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has praised Williams’ impact throughout the postseason, but no sequence will better define her tenure in Minnesota than her closing stretch of Game 1. – Pickman
They’re down but not out, Courtney Williams gets the and-1 after making a mistake outside the arc 😱#WNBAFinales presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/ohHOLP9upG
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 11, 2024
Required reading
(Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
