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WNBA

Give Me Liberty

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BROOKLYN – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York'[s Nyara Sabally picked a good night to play one of the best games of her life.

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In the first overtime winner-take-the title Finals game in WNBA history, Sabally had 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench — and connected on a breakaway layup in overtime that proved to be crucial game-sealing points — as the host New York Liberty defeated the visiting Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in Sunday night’s Game 5 to win their first championship in franchise history.

It was the first double-digit scoring performance of the postseason for Sabally. Her steal and fast-break bucket with 3:14 to play put the Liberty ahead 65-60. The Lynx would knock down two free throws to trim the deficit to three points, but never got any closer. Sabally blocked Napheesa Collier’s layup attempt with 1:18 to play, and Breanna Stewart later padded the Liberty lead with a pair of free throws.

The Lynx had the ball with 18.4 seconds to play in overtime with a chance to tie, but Bridget Carleton’s 3-point attempt missed the mark.

Stewart, who never came out of the game, finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and four assists. Two free throws from her at the end of regulation sent the game into overtime. The Liberty also got 17 points from Jonquel Jones, 13 points from Leonie Fiebich, and five points, eight assists and seven rebounds from Sabrina Ionescu.

Jones was named Finals MVP after averaging 18 points and eight rebounds per game throughout the series.

The Liberty won despite Stewart and Ionescu — its two Olympians — combining for 5-of-34 shooting from the floor.

Collier, who fouled out with 13 seconds left in overtime, powered Minnesota with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Kayla McBride had 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Minnesota opened the decisive final game of the season with a 6-0 run and finished the first quarter ahead 19-10. Collier scored eight points in the opening frame and six more in the second. At halftime, the Lynx maintained a seven-point lead.

The momentum of the game seemed to swing in the Liberty’s favor midway through the third quarter when Sabally entered the game. When the third-year forward out of Oregon checked in, the Liberty trailed by five points. At the end of the third quarter — and after Sabally piled up nine points and two rebounds in about four-and-a-half minutes — New York led Minnesota by three points. Each of Sabally’s three field goals in the third frame were assisted by her former Oregon teammate, Ionescu.

“I feel like we just had to settle in, honestly,” Sabally said. “I’m blessed. Look at this arena. This is what I’ve been dreaming off.”

While Sabally soared, Ionescu struggled mightily, missing each of her first 14 shot attempts from the floor. According to ESPN, it marked the most consecutive misses in a winner-take-all game in WNBA history. Ionescu didn’t make her first field goal until there was 3:10 left to play, as she connected on a 3-pointer from 28 feet out on an assist from Stewart that put the Liberty ahead by four points.

A late surge from Minnesota, capped off by back-to-back baskets from Collier, gave the Lynx a two-point lead with 1:04 to play. With less than six seconds left, Stewart tied the game up after being fouled and then knocking down a pair of free throws. McBride’s late look from 3-point land didn’t connect for Minnesota as the game went to overtime.

For a team that plays in the New York borough of Brooklyn, the championship won by the Liberty is the first for a Brooklyn-based team since Major League Baseball’s Dodgers won the World Series in 1955.

–Field Level Media

Fever Go Down in Clark Debut

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UNCASVILLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – DeWanna Bonner climbed the all-time scoring list with 20 points and the Connecticut Sun capitalized on Caitlin Clark’s turnover-prone WNBA debut to defeat the Indiana Fever 92-71 in the season opener Tuesday in Connecticut.

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Clark, who was chosen with the No. 1 pick after a record-breaking college career, tallied a team-high 20 points and three assists but committed 10 turnovers and four fouls. She shot 5-for-15 from the floor, including 4-of-11 from 3-point range.

Clark’s miscues included six bad-pass turnovers and one traveling call. Connecticut scored 29 points off Indiana’s 25 total turnovers.

On a transition bucket in the third quarter, Bonner passed Candice Dupree for the fifth-most points in WNBA history and now has 6,901. Alyssa Thomas, who recorded a league-record six triple-doubles last season, picked up where she left off with 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for Connecticut (1-0).

DiJonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris each added 16 points and Rachel Banham had 10 for the Sun.

Clark connected with Aliyah Boston to tally an assist on the game’s opening possession. But the rookie also picked up two early fouls and sat for most of the final 4:51 of the period.

Harris made three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Sun build a 19-13 lead. Carrington poured in 14 points in the second quarter alone to add to that edge.

Clark’s first WNBA basket came on a driving layup midway through the second after an 0-for-4 start. Her first professional 3-pointer was a catch-and-shoot play from the left wing to cut the deficit to single digits with 30.1 seconds before halftime, but Connecticut eventually took a 49-39 edge to the locker room.

Clark hit a 29-foot triple and Erica Wheeler added five points in an 8-2 Fever spurt early in the third quarter to trim their deficit to 53-47. That’s as close as they would get, as Bonner and Thomas combined for the next six points.

Bonner’s three-point play at the 6:37 mark of the fourth quarter made it 75-59 Sun. Clark made her third 3 on the ensuing possession, but Harris answered with one for Connecticut and the Fever never threatened again.

–Field Level Media

Clark Scores 21 in First WNBA Game

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ARLINGTON – In her first action as a professional, Iowa’s sensational collegiate star Caitlin Clark did not disappoint as the recently drafted WNBA rookie scored 21 points for the Indiana Fever in a 79-76 preseason loss to the host Dallas Wings on Friday.

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Clark, the No. 1 pick in last month’s WNBA draft, scored 11 of her team’s first 19 points and scored 16 in the first half. The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer finished 6-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range, while adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“My biggest goal coming into tonight was to continue to be myself, play aggressive,” said Clark, who missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would’ve sent the game to overtime. “I thought that’s what I did. I think there’s a lot to be proud of.”

Despite playing on the road, Clark was cheered throughout the game, including an ovation when she was introduced as a starter. She hit her first two shot attempts, both 3-pointers, and hit four of eight 3-point attempts in the first half.

The Fever play one more preseason game Thursday against the visiting Atlanta Dream before opening the regular season on the road against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.

“There’s a lot of good to take away from it. At the same time, it’s a preseason game, so don’t get too disappointed by it,” Clark said. “Just go back and watch the film, learn from it, and get ready for our next one.”

–Field Level Media