The opportunity was there for the Liberty.
Ahead 2-1 in their second consecutive WNBA Finals appearance, they were perfectly set up to earn their first title on the Lynx’s home court at Target Center.
They battled back in the second half of Game 3 to earn the series lead, largely due to Breanna Stewart’s 30-point night and capped off with a 28-foot 3-point stunner from Sabrina Ionescu that rocked the basketball world.
They later had their moments to close in a Game 4 on Friday that featured 14 lead changes.
Yet, despite Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich picking up the slack with 21 and 19 points, respectively, in the absence of a big scoring night from both Stewart (11) and Ionescu (10), the Liberty were bested by the Lynx in the final seconds of Game 4, an 82-80 loss on the exact date they were eliminated by the Aces in four games at Barclays Center a year ago.
Now, they have one more chance in New York for a winner-take-all Game 5, and the pressure has only increased for the team in its second superteam year that was built purposely for these moments.
“We missed some shots we normally make there late down the stretch in the paint and on the 3-point line, and it kinda came back to haunt us in the end,” Ionescu said Friday. “You know, we just gotta be better and take accountability on the things we could’ve done better.”
After going 16-22 in the 2022 season, coach Sandy Brondello and general manager Jonathan Kolb laid out an aggressive offseason game plan in search of players to build a championship group in New York.
They had the best free agency period of any other team in the offseason, adding the 2021 MVP Jones, a two-time WNBA champion in Stewart, and veteran point guard and five-time All-Star Courtney Vandersloot to pair with Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton in the starting five.
After a franchise best 32-8 record and their first run to the WNBA Finals since 2002, Kolb and Brondello had a mission to add more versatility to their bench after seeing their lack of depth impact the 2023 championship loss.
Now, with a roster more capable and with better chemistry, Sunday’s Game 5 places the highest of expectations on the Liberty to clinch the championship in 40 minutes, with fans having waited more than a quarter century for a title.
“Minnesota did what they needed to do here to tie it up. And now we go back home,” Brondello said after the loss on Friday. “We love playing in front of our crowd. So, it will definitely be another sellout. It will definitely be loud, and we have to bring our A-game. I have a lot of respect for Minnesota, don’t get me wrong. This is a tough team. Really tough team and they play well. They compete. So, we got one more game and we’re going to win on our home court.”
They looked a bit rattled by a Lynx defense that limited two of their star players in Game 4, and the Liberty didn’t seem thrilled that another close-out game has been forced upon them.
However, they lost two games in a row only once this past season.
The Liberty also tied for first place with the Lynx in the best home record of 16-4 during the regular season.
“Short-term memory,” Stewart said of the message in the locker room after the loss.
“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” Ionescu said. “Coming into this arena and having to win two was really tough. But, you know, we’re not done yet. This is part of our story and we didn’t play our best basketball tonight, and we’re excited to go home and potentially win a championship in front of our home crowd.”
