Lynx fall just short after Napheesa Collier leads them to the brink of a fifth WNBA title
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) is stripped of the ball by New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich (13) and forward Breanna Stewart (30) during the third quarter of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball final series, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in New York. Credit: AP/Pamela Smith
NEW YORK — Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx, who both had No. 2 finishes in the regular season, were on the verge of being No. 1 when it mattered most.
The Lynx were seconds away from a record fifth WNBA championship with perhaps a WNBA Finals MVP award waiting for Collier, whose flurry late in regulation had her team in the lead in the final minute.
They couldn't hold on.
The New York Liberty rallied for a 67-62 victory in overtime, denying the Lynx what would have been a WNBA-record fifth championship.
Collier, the runner-up to unanimous MVP A'ja Wilson in the regular season, had to watch the final seconds from the bench after fouling out of a game Minnesota seemed poised to win just a few minutes earlier.
The Lynx controlled the first half but had fallen into a 56-52 hole on Sabrina Ionescu’s 3-pointer with 3:10 remaining. Then Collier, who started strong, got going again. She had Minnesota’s next three baskets, with her drive past Breanna Stewart giving the Lynx a 60-58 edge with 1:04 to go.
But Minnesota wouldn't score again until New York had scored the next seven points, tying it on Stewart's free throws with 5.2 seconds left and going ahead 65-60 in the extra period.
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) battles for a rebound against Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) during the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball final series, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in New York. Credit: AP/Pamela Smith
Collier finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. The WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year played all but 35 seconds of the 45-minute game, and most of what she missed is because she committed the foul to stop the clock with 13 seconds remaining in OT.
It was clearly a fantastic season for the forward, who averaged 20.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in her sixth year out of UConn. She also won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team and helped the Lynx notch a franchise-record 30 wins and earn the No. 2 seed.
But if Game 5 plays out differently, she might have also picked up a WNBA Finals MVP trophy, joining the elite Lynx players from the past to have done so.
Sylvia Fowles won it in 2015 and 2017 after their last two championships. Seimone Augustus, enshrined last week in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, was the winner in 2011 and Maya Moore two years later.
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