The New York Liberty suffered a brutal 95-93 overtime loss in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx, blowing an 18-point lead in the process, and Breanna Stewart opened up on what happened in the waning minutes of regulation, while explaining how they will move on to try to get a win in Game 2 on Sunday.
“We gave up 11 points in two minutes. Our offense got really stagnant,” Breanna Stewart said, via Meghan L. Hall of USA TODAY. “[The Lynx] were scoring, like Sandy said, they went like 9-9 in the final however many minutes in overtime. So we didn't really do all the things that kind of got us that lead and got us to that point throughout the game. And just addressing it. Facing everything head on and taking accountability for all action and that's why we're pros. S**t happens, and now what are we gonna do.”
It looked like the Liberty would come away with a win to grab the lead in the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Instead, they will try to even up the series before it shifts to Minnesota in Game 3. Going on the road down 2-0 in the series would be tough. Tying up the series at 1-1 while heading on the road would put the Liberty in position to still have a good chance to win the series. They would have to win just one of the two on the road before returning home for a winner-take-all Game 5, unless they are able to win both games on the road. The first step is winning Game 2 to even things up.
Liberty need to follow the same plan, but close in the 4th quarter in Game 2
The Liberty had a very balanced attack in Game 1 on offense. Jonquel Jones had arguably the best game for New York, scoring a game-high 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu scored 19 as well with five rebounds, while Breanna Stewart had 18 and nine rebounds. Leonie Fiebich contributed 17 points as well.
It was a well-rounded effort offensively from the Liberty, even though it would be ideal if Stewart shot with better efficiency. The main problem was that New York did not defend well down the stretch, as Stewart mentioned. The Liberty have passed every test so far this postseason with flying colors, but the Lynx will be the toughest one. Hopefully Game 1 will be remembered as a blip and not the difference in the series.