NEW YORK — UConn women’s basketball legend Breanna Stewart won her third WNBA championship in front of a sold-out crowd at Barclays Center on Sunday, bringing the New York Liberty its first title with a 67-62 victory in Game 5 over the Minnesota Lynx.
The 2024 series was one of the closest Finals in the history of the WNBA, and Game 5 was no exception. It was the first-ever overtime in a winner-take-all Finals matchup and the first series in league history to go to overtime in multiple games (also in Game 1).
Minnesota led for the majority of the game, but Sabrina Ionescu made her only field goal of the game, a nearly 30-foot 3-pointer, with three minutes left in the fourth quarter to give the Liberty their biggest lead of the game. Former UConn star Napheesa Collier tied the score for Minnesota at 58 with just over 90 seconds on the clock, then put the Lynx back in front by two in the final minute.
Stewart had a chance to answer Collier but missed a pair of free throws with 38 seconds remaining that nearly cost New York the game. She redeemed herself with five seconds on the clock, drawing a foul and making both at the line to tie the score at 60 and send the game to overtime.
Both teams were inefficient in overtime with multiple starters playing more than 40 minutes, but Stewart anchored New York with a pair of critical defensive stops. She deflected a pass attempt from Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman to force a turnover, then made a steal against Courtney Williams, though the Liberty were unable to score off of either opportunity. Stewart got to the line again with a foul against Collier in the final 10 seconds and gave the Liberty a two-possession lead with two made shots. Stewart finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Liberty center Jonquel Jones, who played for the Connecticut Sun from 2016-22, was crowned WNBA Finals MVP after winning her first championship in four Finals appearances. She logged 17 points and six rebounds in Game 5 shooting 50% from the field.
Collier was the most dominant player on the floor in the first half by a wide margin, logging a game-high 14 points plus five rebounds, a steal and a block while giving up only one turnover. She scored six of the Lynx’s first 10 points to open the game on a 10-4 run, and Minnesota led wire-to-wire to enter halftime up 34-27.
As Collier quickly found her rhythm, Stewart struggled to impact the game offensively in the first half. She shot 0-for-3 in the opening quarter, hitting her first field goal early in the second and entering halftime with just five points shooting 2-for-9. Stewart got active on the boards when her shot wasn’t falling, bringing down 10 in the first half, but she also gave up two of New York’s five turnovers before halftime.
Former UConn standout Dorka Juhasz entered Game 5 averaging just five minutes for Minnesota during the postseason, but Reeve was forced to utilize her more heavily after Alanna Smith re-aggravated a back injury suffered in Game 3 at the end of the first half. Juhasz had two assists in her first five minutes on the floor and added a block in the second half.
A visibly-frustrated Stewart spiked the ball into the court after missing a buzzer-beating jump shot attempt at the end of the second quarter, and she entered the third with a new energy. The UConn legend opened the second half with a mid-range jump shot, and she was equally aggressive on the defensive end with a key block against Collier late in the third.
Nyara Sabally tied the game 38-38 with three minutes left in the third with a layup in transition off of a Leonie Fiebich steal against Juhasz. Sabally, who played 17 minutes off the bench, then gave New York its first lead of the game on the next possession after grabbing the defensive rebound and hitting a layup at the other end.
Foul trouble became a concern for Minnesota late in the third after Collier, Bridget Carleton and Kayla McBride all ended the quarter with three apiece. The Liberty finished 21-for-25 at the free throw line, while Minnesota got just eight attempts at the charity stripe and made seven. New York did not have a single player with more than two fouls entering the fourth quarter. Collier eventually fouled out with 13 seconds left in overtime.
