After waiting nearly three decades, the Liberty have their first WNBA title. And the city has its first pro basketball crown in more than a half-century.
Breanna Stewart found her stroke at the free-throw line when it mattered most, sinking two to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation, then two more with 10 seconds left in overtime to seal a 67-62 victory in the deciding Game 5 of the Finals.
After Stewart’s final two at the charity stripe, the rest was window dressing: a Lynx timeout, a bad pass by Bridget Carleton, a steal by Leonie Fiebich, a buzzer, a 2024 WNBA championship.
As Stewart dribbled the ball out, she yelled to Jonquel Jones in celebration before embracing in a tight, emotional hug.
Kayla Thornton ran to hug a tearful Sabrina Ionescu on the sideline.
“When I hugged Stewie, I was just sobbing in her ear,” said Jones, who won her first title after four Finals appearances. “I didn’t say one word. I was just crying the whole time. I was just so happy to win and to do it with her.”
After rebuilding their depth and establishing another year of chemistry together in a franchise-best 32-8 season to earn the top seed and home-court advantage, the Liberty got the vengeance they chased after falling to the Aces on their home court just a year ago in four games.
No fans left Barclays Center as confetti rained down after the decisive Game 5.
The team hugged and hoisted the trophy. Jones won WNBA Finals MVP honor. Everyone in the building witnessed history.
“We knew we had more in the tank to give and 20 more minutes for the end of the season,” Stewart said. “That’s it. I felt like, because I was just thinking about today, whether we win or lose, we want to put it all on the line because last year when we lost, there was more in the tank. And this year that wasn’t happening.”
The joyous mayhem on the court afterward wouldn’t have occurred if Stewart didn’t find resolve at the free-throw line.
She had been 1-for-4 at the stripe when she went to shoot two trailing by two with 5 seconds left in regulation.
Stewart sank both to knot the game at 60, forcing overtime.
Fiebich opened the extra five minutes with a signature corner 3-pointer, and Nyara Sabally followed with a crucial steal and layup to take a 65-60 lead with 3:14 left to play.
A series of crunch-time sloppiness followed by both teams: a missed jumper, a shot-clock violation, a bad pass out of bounds, another missed jumper.
Kayla McBride was fouled and snapped the scoreless drought with a pair of free throws at the 1:51 mark to trim the Liberty lead to 65-62.
Several scoreless possessions followed, the Liberty holding their lead until Stewart’s foul shots, the highlight of her poor Game 5 performance.
“I knew and I came in with a game plan of it doesn’t matter,” Stewart said. “I want to play defense. I want to rebound. I want to do the little things and I’ll continue to be aggressive and shoot my shots. But if they’re not falling, they’re not falling. And I’m not going to let that affect the way I do things.”
Then the lid found its way back onto the basket: an offensive foul, a blocked shot, a turnover, a missed jumper, a bad pass, a missed 3-pointer, another missed 3-pointer, a delay of game violation, a foul … until Stewart finally put the scoreboard back to work, more than 100 seconds after the previous point, with her sealing free throws with 10 seconds left.
It was an otherwise poor Game 5 for Stewart. She shot 4-for-15, finishing with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Those struggles were mild compared to Ionescu.
She went 1-for-19 from the field, including 1-for-10 from beyond the arc, and finished with just five points.
She did add seven rebounds and eight assists.
Jones carried the Liberty with 17 points, and Stewart and Sabally both finished with 13 points.
“[Jones] led us,” Stewart said. “Her dominance in the paint and on the boards, helps on defense. Everything that we needed, she was there.”
The first half wasn’t pretty for the Liberty. They missed their first five shots, including a wide backboard 3-pointer from Ionescu and a short-range airball from Stewart. E
ach of the Liberty stars also had a turnover in the opening quarter.
It was a poor shooting night overall for the team, which shot 30 percent and was just 2-for-23 from 3-point range.
“This has been a grind every single game,” Brondello said. “I just love these ladies here and they’re amazing humans and fun to coach.”
In the end, they would not be denied. They came so close last year. They spent the offseason building to take that 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 that next step, and have a trophy to prove it.