It was therefore necessary to go through a grueling Game 5 and a new extension to decide the outcome of this WNBA season which was a great success in media terms. Faced with its destiny, and its audience, it is therefore the New York Liberty who won the first championship title in its history, after his five previous failures in Finals…
As could be expected, the tension was high, giving rise to a bitter match with the feel of trench warfare. Ambient pressure symbols Sabrina Ionescu et Breanna Stewart missed completely in shooting, respectively at 1/19 and 4/15 in shooting! But the New Yorkers were able to rely on other talents to force the decision against the Minnesota Lynx who may have regrets about this last match.
Minnesota actually got off to the best start, finishing the first act with a 9-point lead thanks to the Smith-Hiedeman-Collier trio (10-19), and raced until the middle of the third quarter. New York then passed a 12-4 initiated by a 2+1 from Jonquel Jones and concluded by the interior of Liberty (45-42).
Jonquel Jones, MVP surprise
We thought that the hardest part was done for the locals, but Minnesota hung on until the end, in turn posting a 6-0 with a minute to go to get back in front (58-60)! With five seconds remaining, Breanna Stewart this time did not miss her two shots to extend the suspense for five minutes (60-60). And at the end of a tough fight, the Liberty managed to get through the drops to win 67-62, with a liberating 3-pointer from Leonie Fiebich and an interception from Nyara Sabally to add two more points, two actions who revealed the story of this match, while Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart therefore missed this Game 5.
Breanna Stewart was still there to ensure the victory with two final free throws. This is her third WNBA title, and the very first in New York Liberty history! With 17 points and 6 rebounds in Game 5 and 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds on average over five games, Jonquel Jones was elected MVP of the Finals.
“I could never have dreamed of something like this. You know how many times I have been left aside. It’s been delayed, but I’m really happy to make it here.”she declared, she who was the only player to have experienced (and lost) a Game 5 in the Finals.
It was in 2019 with the Connecticut Sun. Five years later, she could not have dreamed of a better “revenge”.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
