The Minnesota Lynx made history after coming back from down 18 points to beat the New York Liberty, 95-93, in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals Thursday night. After the collapse by the Liberty to the Lynx, head coach Cheryl Reeve spoke to the media about the resilient victory and what led to the outstanding performance.

As said before, they came back down 18 points, but it was more spectacular that they were down 15 with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter and still managed to take it to overtime and win the game. Reeve would express after Thursday's opening win in the WNBA Finals that the outing encapsulated what their team is all about according to ESPN.

“I think it defines our team in terms of being able to get through difficult times,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of the comeback. “That's what we are talking about: You have to be mentally tough and resilient. You have to look inward and not blame other people, and give each other confidence. And we were that team. Thrilled that we could hang in there.”

Lynx's Cheryl Reeve on staying focused despite huge win

Charlotte Hornets head coach Cheryl Reeve yells out instructions in the third quarter against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center.
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

While the Liberty have not played well in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals beforehand, the 18-point comeback win by the Lynx is tied for the largest and the 15-point swing with five minutes left in the game is the first time ever. Teams were 0-183 before the Lynx Thursday night per ESPN, but Reeve still has the mindset that it is far from over.

“We know it's a long series,” Reeve said. “Nothing is won in the first quarter. It was not the first quarter that we were hoping for. What our narrative was in the timeouts was just we had to find our footing. Find our footing defensively, and we did the second quarter. We held them to 12 after giving up 32. We went into halftime in good shape.”

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Courtney Williams of the Lynx led the way with 23 points as she spoke about her role with the team in leaning more on her offense.

“That's just a testament to how we believe in each other,” Williams said. “We have so many great 3-point shooters, and the fact that these girls are out here trying to get me the ball, I mean, I could cry.

“This is amazing. I love it. I say that all the time, and I don't say that for fun. These people I'm around, we believe in each other so much. It's crazy, man. I'm happy to be here.”

Behind Williams was Kayla McBride who scored 22 and then Napheesa Collier who had 21 on the game where the latter spoke highly of their defensive strategy in getting stops. It turned out positively as Reeve would echo the same sentiments that they played up to their standard.

“We held them below 40% [shooting], which is monumental. A lot of that was obviously late. We got big stops when we needed them. Repeatedly, whether ball is going out of bounds or 50/50 balls, referees, whatever happens, jump balls, fouls, all that stuff, we just had to be gritty at the end. We had to get stops to win, and that's what I'm proud of.”

Game 2 is Sunday as Minnesota has a 1-0 lead.