Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Minnesota Lynx upstaged the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the Finals

The hosting Liberty took their fingers off the trigger, and the Lynx struck them down. The visitors were behind 15 points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter but rose from the grave on moves from Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, Natisha Hiedeman and Napheesa Collier to force overtime. They then outmarked the Liberty, 11-8.

Early, the Liberty were making pelts out of the Lynx. Jonquel Jones overmatched inside protections. Sabrina Ionescu added a pair of trays and spun into the lane, making a floater. Leonie Fiebich downed two 3-pointers. And they pieced up the glass, coming up with six extra tries that turned into 10 points. 

The Lynx countered with seven of 14 baskets but were still on their heels. 

Subsequently, the deficit expanded to below 18 points nearly four minutes into frame two. But the Lynx started showing fangs- the defensive pressure on Ionescu skyrocketed, bothering her with length and using blitzes that neutralized her passes. Fiebich’s four 3-point attempts were contested cleanly, too.

Offensively, Collier scored back-to-back shots on the break that slashed the deficit to single digits. And McBride blasted a corner triple and tallied a coast-to-coast basket.

The Lynx were down 36-44 at intermission. The team had 18 paint points, six on the break, three via second chances, four off turnovers and five from the bench.

The Liberty put up 20 interior marks, 15 in the open court, 12 on extra tries, eight off turnovers and five from the reserves.

Next, McBride, Collier and Bridget Carleton opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run. Yet the Liberty’s German sniper retaliated with a trifecta from each corner. Jones hit a 12-foot jumper and two free throws. And Stewart supplied seven more points. 

The fourth quarter started with the Lynx down 61-68. With five minutes left, New York’s advantage had climbed back to 15 points. Jones produced at the line. Stewart splashed a 3-pointer. Fiebich added five extra marks. And Ionescu made a transition layup. 

But the Lynx clawed their way back again. McBride and Hiedeman connected on triples. Collier hit a mid-range jumper off the catch, powered by Stewart for a bank shot and denied Jones at close range. And Williams, maneuvered to the left for an 18-footer, cut up the break, making a floater and nailed the four-point play that gave the Lynx the lead with 5.5 seconds left in the fourth.

Then Collier blocked Stewart at three feet from the cup. Stewart got off another attempt but was fouled by Collier with .1 seconds left. As the Liberty were down a point, she only converted one of two, setting up overtime instead of taking the win. 

In overtime, Williams had five points but had a brutal turnover that Ionescu scored on, cutting the Lynx lead to two points. Collier had back-to-back steals and made the dagger fadeaway over Jones. 

The Lynx won 95-93. The team had 42 paint points, 17 on the break, 11 via second chances, 17 off turnovers and 15 from the bench. 

Williams had 23 points on nine of 18 attempts, with five rebounds, five assists and three giveaways. McBride put up 22 marks on 55% accuracy, with two rebounds, four assists, one steal and one turnover. And Collier had 21 points on 10 of 16 looks, with eight rebounds, two assists, three steals, six blocks and one turnover. 

The Liberty totaled 36 interior marks, 19 in the open court, 23 on extra tries, 15 off turnovers and 10 from the reserves.

Jones racked up 24 digits on nine of 14 attempts, with 10 boards, three dimes, one steal and two turnovers. Ionescu registered 19 points on eight of 26 ventures, with five boards, three assists, four steals and three giveaways. Stewart logged 18 points on 29% shooting, with nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two turnovers. And Fiebich had 17 points on 43.8% accuracy, with six rebounds and four assists.

Collier handled the on-court interview. When asked about her defense on Stewart, she said, “She’s one of the best players in the world. I just tried to be aggressive and make the shots as hard as possible.”

At the postgame presser, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said the late comeback defines her team. “You have to be mentally tough… and we were that team. I’m thrilled we could hang in there.”

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