The New York Liberty’s historic season comes to a close as the team finally finishes the job, capturing the WNBA championship. After failing to take down the Las Vegas Aces in last year’s finals, the Liberty returned with a vengeance, finishing the regular season 32-8 and securing the top seed.
Here is a recap of the Liberty’s remarkable playoff run:
The WNBA playoffs started on Sunday, Sep. 22, when the Liberty faced off against the eighth-seeded Atlanta Dream in the first round. The Liberty dominated the series, winning Game 1 83-69 and Game 2 91-82, sweeping out the Dream and advanced to the best-of-five semi-finals.
The Liberty then welcomed the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to New York for a rematch of last season. In Game 1, the Liberty led by 10 at halftime and, despite an Aces rally, held on for an 87-77 win. Game 2 was another battle, but the Liberty pulled away in the third quarter to win 88-84. Game 3 was another tight matchup until the Aces took control with a 16-0 third-quarter run to win 95-81. The Liberty responded in Game 4 with a 23-11 fourth-quarter run, winning 76-62 and advancing to the finals for the second straight year.
This set up a WNBA Finals matchup between the top two seeds: the New York Liberty and the second-seeded Minnesota Lynx. This thrilling series started with a nail-biting Game 1, where the Lynx erased an 18-point deficit to force overtime and steal a 95-93 victory. In Game 2, the Liberty built another big lead, going into halftime up 49-39. The Lynx pushed back to make it a two-point game, but the Liberty finished strong with 12 unanswered points to secure an 80-66 win and even the series.
The Liberty’s struggles began early as the series shifted to Minnesota for Game 3. They fell behind by 10 at the end of the first quarter and trailed by eight at halftime. The Liberty fought back, tying the game at 77 with two seconds left in regulation. Point-guard Sabrina Ionescu then hit a clutch 28-foot three-pointer with one second remaining, giving the Liberty a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 was intense throughout, with the teams separated by only one point entering the fourth quarter. In the final seconds, Bridget Carleton sank two free throws for the Lynx, saving their season and forcing a Game 5.
The series returned to Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the winner-take-all Game 5. Building on the momentum from Game 4, the Lynx held the Liberty’s offense to just ten points in the first quarter. New York’s struggles continued as they were still down by seven at halftime. However, the Liberty did not let this discourage them, and they bounced back massively. In the third, they held the Lynx to 10 points while scoring 20 of their own, taking a three-point lead into the fourth.
The championship was up in the air in the fourth quarter, with multiple lead changes and both teams unable to pull away. The Liberty trailed by two points with 5.2 seconds remaining when power forward Breanna Stewart was fouled and awarded two free throws. Stewart made both to tie the game at 60 and send it to overtime–marking the first time in WNBA history that a Finals Game 5 had gone to overtime. In the extra period, a three-pointer by forward Leonie Fiebich sealed the game, and the Liberty won 67-62, taking home their first championship in franchise history.
This is not only the first championship in the Liberty’s 28-season history but also the first pro basketball title for a New York team since the 1973 Knicks.
The Liberty celebrated their championship with a parade Thursday morning, traveling up Broadway with a ceremony at City Hall and concluding with a final celebration at Barclays Center that night.
“Welcome to the sweet land of Liberty,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said during the City Hall ceremony, “On behalf of 20 million incredibly proud New Yorkers, I say welcome home to our champion women. Let’s do it again next year!”
