Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty are one win away from claiming the franchise’s first WNBA title after a shocking 80-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the finals on Wednesday, taking a 2-1 series lead.
With the score tied at 77 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Liberty star forward Ionescu knocked down the game-winning three-pointer from near the logo with just over two seconds remaining in the game.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Liberty leading up to the game-winner. They found themselves down at halftime behind Lynx guard Kayla McBride, who finished the first half with 13 points.
The Liberty found some fight and clawed back in the second half behind Breanna Stewart.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Liberty tied the game at 66 after Stewart knocked down a three. Both teams kept trading scores until Liberty forward Jonquel Jones’ layup gave her team the lead, and Ionescu would add a three-pointer with just under a minute left to make it a 77-73 game.
But it wasn’t over yet, as Lynx star Napheesa Collier made both her free throws to tie the game back up at 77 with 16 seconds left.
Ionescu, who struggled for most of the game, would get the inbound pass and play hero for the Liberty to complete the 15-point comeback, which is the third largest comeback in WNBA Finals history.
Stewart finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, while Ionescu added 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. She joked after the game that she didn’t remember the final play.
“I had to go look at the video really quickly to see how far I was,” Ionescu told reporters, adding: “Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve practiced that shot a thousand times in my head, on the court, and I feel like that’s just something that as athletes, you put yourself in that position to want to be able to make a shot.”
Ionescu later called it the “biggest shot of my career and hopefully not the last.”
Game 4 is scheduled for Friday 8 p.m. ET in Minneapolis.
Stewart acknowledged that the team is now one win away from clinching their historic first title but said the job is not done.
“We know we’re one game away from winning the championship, and I think that they are going to give us their best shot,” she said. “They are going to give everything they have got, and you know what, so are we. The turnaround is quick but we are going to continue to be ready.”
Despite the loss, Collier made some WNBA history herself.
The 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year finished with 22 points and increased her postseason point total to 249. She passes Diana Taurasi for the most in a single postseason in WNBA history, which was originally set in 2009.