New York Liberty wins the first WNBA championship in franchise history

The New York Liberty won their first WNBA championship on Sunday, defeating the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in an overtime thriller to win the series in five games.

The Liberty reached the Finals as the only original WNBA franchise without a championship, having lost in its last five Finals appearances. New York last made it to the championship round last year when it lost to the Las Vegas Aces.

Game 5 required a comeback as the Lynx jumped out to a nine-point lead after the first quarter, only to shrink to seven by halftime. But New York erased the deficit with a strong third quarter, outscoring the Lynx 20-10.

After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Breanna Stewart hit two free throws with five seconds left to tie the game before Minnesota failed to score on its final regulation possession.

The Liberty won the final period 7 to 2. They also benefited from some close calls in the final period, including the blocking foul that sent Stewart to the line to tie the game in the fourth quarter, which was confirmed upon review.

New York shot 25 free throws compared to the Lynx's eight.

Liberty's Game 5 victory was largely led by Jonquel Jones, Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally, while stars Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggled for most of the evening.

Stewart scored just 13 points on 4 of 15 shooting in the decisive throw. In the last playoffs, she scored 3 of 17 goals against the Aces in the final game of the final round.

In her fourth season, Ionescu provided heroics on numerous occasions in the postseason. However, in the final game of the series, she scored just five points on 1-for-19 shooting.

Jones, on the other hand, was a matchup problem on Sunday. She finished the game with a team-leading 17 points and six rebounds. Fiebich and Sabally added 13 each.

Jones, who finished the series averaging 17.8 points per game, was named Finals MVP.

Early in the series, Ionescu made one of the best shots in Liberty history, a 3-pointer in the final seconds of Game 3 that proved to be the game-winner – giving New York a 2-1 lead.