After waiting nearly 30 years, Liberty won its first WNBA title. And the city won its first professional basketball crown in more than half a century.
Brianna Stewart made a stroke at the free-throw line in the most important moment, sank two in the final minutes of regulation to tie the score, then sank two more with 10 seconds left in overtime to seal the deciding Game 5. They won 67-62. of the finals.
After Stewart made his final two from the charity stripe, the rest was a piece of cake: a Lynx timeout, a bad Bridget Carleton pass, a Leonie Fibic steal, the buzzer, and the 2024 WNBA Championship.
As Stewart dribbled the ball away, she congratulated Jonquel Jones and then gave him an emotional hug.
Kayla Thornton ran to hug Sabrina Ionescu as she teared up on the sideline.
“When I hugged Stewie, I was just sobbing in her ear,” said Jones, who won her first title in four Finals appearances. “I didn't say a word. I just cried the whole time. I was really happy to win and be with her.”
After rebuilding the team's depth and establishing another year of chemistry with a franchise-best 32-8 season to earn the top seed and home-court advantage, the Liberty becomes an ace on its home court in just one year. He achieved the revenge he sought after his defeat. That was four games ago.
After the decisive Game 5, no fans left Barclays Center amid rain of confetti.
The team hugged each other and hoisted the trophy. Jones earned WNBA Finals MVP honors. Everyone in the building witnessed history.
“We knew Tank had more work to do and we had 20 minutes left until the end of the season,” Stewart said. “That's it. I was just thinking about today, so win or lose, I felt like I wanted to give it everything I had, because last year when I lost, I had more in the tank. And this year. That didn't happen.''
If Stewart hadn't braced himself at the free-throw line, the on-court mayhem that followed might not have happened.
With five seconds left in regulation, she went for a shot, making 1 of 4 at the stripe and trailing by two.
Stewart sank both to tie the game at 60 points and force overtime.
Fievich started the extra five minutes with a signature corner 3-pointer, and Nyara Sabally followed with a key steal and layup to take a 65-60 lead with 3:14 left.
A series of close calls followed for both teams, including a missed jumper, a shot clock violation, a bad pass that went wide, and another missed jumper.
Kayla McBride was fouled but made two free throws at 1:51 to break the scoreless situation and cut Liberty's lead to 65-62.
After several scoreless possessions, Liberty held the lead until Stewart's foul shot, which was the highlight of a poor performance in Game 5.
“I knew it didn't matter and I went in with a game plan,” Stewart said. “I want to play defense. I want to rebound. I want to do the little things and I want to continue to be aggressive and take shots. But if it's not falling, it's not falling. And that's how I do it. I don't intend to influence it.”
And the lid is back on the basket: offensive fouls, blocked shots, turnovers, missed jumpers, bad passes, missed 3-point shots, missed 3-point shots, delay of game, fouls… 100 seconds since the last point. That was until Stewart made a free throw with 10 seconds left to get the scoreboard back on track.
It was an otherwise poor Game 5 for Stewart. She completed 4-of-15 shooting, had 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Compared to Ionescu, those battles were mild.
She went 1-of-19 from the field, including 1-of-10 from beyond the arc, and finished with just five points.
She added seven rebounds and eight assists.
Jones led the Liberty with 17 points, while Stewart and Sabally both finished with 13 points.
“[Jones] He guided us,” Stewart said. “Her dominance in the paint and on the boards helps our defense. Everything we needed, she was there.”
The first half wasn't too good for Liberty. They missed their first five shots, including Ionescu's wide backboard 3-pointer and Stewart's short-range airball. E
Liberty's star players also committed turnovers in the first quarter.
On this night, the team as a whole shot 30 percent, making just 2-of-23 from 3-point range, and had poor shooting overall.
“Every game was tough,” Brondello said. “I really love the women here. They have great humanity and are fun to coach.”
After all, they were not denied. Last year they became very close. They spent the offseason preparing to take the next step. They were the best team in the regular season. They were the best team Sunday night. And they are now officially the best team in the WNBA.
They took the next step and had the trophy to prove it.
