The Guru’s WNBA Report: Minnesota Rallies From 18 Down to Stun Host New York 95-93 in Overtime to Take Finals Opener

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

NEW YORK —  At the conclusion of Thursday night’s pre-game press conference with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert here at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn prior to the opener of the league’s best-of-five finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, on the way out of the room, being of South Jersey origin, she turned to yours truly, acknowledging the area common roots, and remarked, “I was really sad to see what happened to the Phillies,” referencing  the baseball burial by the local Mets.

Anticipating the lifelong franchise failure here from the WNBA’s dormancy in 1997 soon to end from their women’s pro hoop stars, the town euphoria from the sellout crowd of 17,732 gushed into the first quarter as the Liberty fired a flurry of threes on the way to a 32-19 lead, the highest scoring opening playoffs quarter in franchise  history.

The New Yorkers, which owned an 18-point domination at one stretch, looked every bit the team that was the top seed heading into the postseason and Minnesota appeared to be suffering on a 48-hour turnaround malaise from their semifinals series that was extended back to Minneapolis for a Game 5 Tuesday night by the Connecticut Sun. 

But highlighted by a 10-0 run in the second quarter run it became a slimmer 44-36 lead at the half.

 From there, the visitors continued to dog the Liberty into a wild finish in regulation that went into overtime on a missed second-attempt foul shot that could have won it from Breanna Stewart, and Minnesota eked ahead to a 95-93 victory before the jammed packed arena of stunned onlookers.

“We’re the first team in WNBA playoff history to be down 15 (in the final five minutes) and come back and win the game,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, the La Salle grad, also from South Jersey in the Philly burbs, who owns a record-tying four titles from the last decade and guided USA to its eighth straight gold medal in Paris last August.

“So that ranks really high (the comeback in a prolific coaching career). I think it defines our team. Getting through difficult times. That’s what we’ve been talking about. You have to be mentally tough, resilient … Thrilled that we could hang in there.”

Napheesa Collier, who has been explosive in the playoffs for the Lynx, in the extra period snapped a tie with 8.8 seconds left and Stewart’s layup as time expired missed its target.

“The basketball gods were on our side tonight,” said Minnesota’s Courtney Williams, who signed as a free agent for this season. She had 23 points and turned the volume off in the boisterous arena with a four-point play with 5.5 left in regulation.

Collier had 21 points, eight rebounds, three steals and six blocks, while Kayla McBride scored 23. Alanna Smith, the Stanford graduate who has aided the defense this season, had nine points, nine boards, four assists, and three blocks. And substitute Natisha Hiedeman out of Marquette who also played previously with the WNBA Sun, scored ten off the bench.

The comeback and upset, though Minnesota dominated the season series 3-1, including the Commissioner’s Cup, caused the Liberty to waste a standout performance by George Washington grad Jonquel Jones, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 19, but was 8-for-26 from the field, while Stewart had 18 points, and German rookie Leonie Fiebich scored 17, setting a rookie playoffs record with  five from deep.p.m. 

Williams’ play came at the end of a 12-0 run in the final 3:23 of regulation that wiped out New York’s 11-point lead.

In the final moments of regulation, Stewart went for the win, was blocked, and then after the ball went out of bounds, she got the inbound from Ionescu and an officials review determined she was fouled with 0.8 left on the clock.

She went to the line, her first shot brought a roar, as she knotted the score, but her next attempt missed, the crowd hushed, and play went into overtime.

At that point, the momentum swung to the Lynx.

“We just take it on the chin, you know,” Stewart said. “We were up a lot and then we had a wild sequence to end the fourth. Didn’t start overtime great.

“I had a great look at the end, and I didn’t make it. But I think this is a series. We wanted to really win, obviously for home court. But the beauty is we have another game on Sunday, and we’ll be ready.”

New York coach Sandy Brondello said her team got away from their disciplines.

At the commissioner’s presser, Engelbert announced the lottery order in April’s draft, involving Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas, will be at 5 p.m., Nov. 17, on ESPN, and the new Golden State team coming online in 2025 will draft fifth in each round after the lottery picks.

The finals next season will extend longer into October from a best-of-five to best-of-seven, the high seed hosts the first two games, the low seed the next pair, and then if it goes longer, it will be 1-1-1, the higher seed with the advantage.

The first round will go from a 2-1 favor high seed format to a 1-1-1 with the high seed the advantage.

The season will also expand again, going from 40 to 44 games.

Game two is Sunday night at 3 p.m. on ABC. 

The next one or, if necessary, two games move to Minneapolis, Wednesday and Friday with a fifth if necessary to snap a tie being played Sunday night, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

The recent 17 playoff games prior to Thursday night averaged 970,000 viewers, up 142 percent over a year ago, and are the most viewed across ESPN platforms since the league launched in 1997.

The semifinals averaged 850,000 across nine games, up 99 percent over last year, and most viewed on ESPN  networks in 25  years.