The New York Liberty won a first WNBA title with a dramatic 67-62 overtime victory against Minnesota Lynx.
Jonquel Jones top scored with 17 points for the Liberty as they won the game five decider in Brooklyn to take the series 3-2 and deny the Lynx a record fifth title.
“I could never dream of this,” said Jones, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the WNBA Finals.
“It’s biggest moment and you have to lock in if you want to be a champion and it was all about this and us winning together because we really love each other.”
New York’s Breanna Stewart converted two free throws to level the game with 5.2 seconds left at the end of regulation time.
A Leonie Fiebich three-pointer then put the Liberty in front in overtime before Nyara Sabally extended their lead and two Stewart free throws sealed the victory with 10 seconds left.
“This is something special right here and I’m trying not to cry,” said Stewart, who finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
“We had some ups and downs. This series was tough but we fought through because we wanted to bring it home to this city and this crowd.”
Napheesa Collier scored 22 points for the Lynx and Kayla McBride added 21 but they lost the first WNBA Finals since 2019 to go to a fifth game.
