Afrigather Exterior the 3-point line, Leonie Fiebich paused for a second. She seemed round. When Lynx guard Courtney Williams dribbled off her foot with simply over 90 seconds remaining and the Liberty up by six, the ball rolled — and stored rolling — throughout the mid-court line till Fiebich picked it up.
And even with Breanna Stewart chopping towards the basket, even with Fiebich not needing to hurry right into a shot given how shortly a late lead unraveled simply two days earlier, she went for one anyway.
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, from her perch on the sideline, noticed Stewart chopping.
Then, she realized Fiebich was elevating. It was a “enormous” shot, guard Courtney Vandersloot stated. “Gutsy,” she added. And when it fell by the web, the Liberty, for the primary time this sequence, had a real dagger.
Up till that time, Recreation 2 of the WNBA Finals had unfolded equally to Recreation 1 for the Liberty. They constructed a 17-point lead within the first half. They watched the Lynx slowly and slowly — and, at some factors, fairly shortly — chip away till it reached two factors within the fourth quarter and the Liberty season veered towards a crossroads.
However Fiebich’s shot offered the ultimate counterpunch throughout their 80-66 win Sunday in entrance of a file 18,046 at Barclays Middle to even the Finals at one because the sequence shifts to Minnesota.
The Liberty escaped by utilizing the blueprint that labored all through the season and helped them arrive at this juncture to start with.
They held Lynx star Napheesa Collier, on tempo to have the highest-scoring postseason in league historical past, to only 16 factors. A balanced offense — led by Sabrina Ionescu within the opening quarter, then Breanna Stewart (21 factors) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (20) the remainder of the sport — offered simply sufficient of a cushion and simply sufficient separation.
“If we’re not taking part in the suitable method and doing the suitable issues, then that may flip quick,” Vandersloot stated, “so we’re clearly simply … figuring out that if we do the suitable issues, we’re gonna be in good place.”
The optics of a second loss to Minnesota wouldn’t have been good. The Lynx had been already the one crew to defeat the Liberty a number of instances this season, and the Liberty had been already tasked with overcoming any emotional hangover stemming from their collapse on Thursday, when Stewart missed a free throw to win on the finish of regulation after the Liberty blew a double-digit lead.
However Ionescu scored 12 factors within the first quarter because the Liberty shot 72 % and shortly constructed a 10-point lead.
They pressured the Lynx into troublesome pictures, identical to Recreation 1. They led by as many as 17 factors and by 10 at halftime, much like Thursday’s 18-point benefit.
“I’m dissatisfied that we let it get to 17,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve stated. “I’m greater than dissatisfied. I’m pissed.”
Ultimately, although, the Lynx made their run once more within the second half, even with Collier caught on the bench late within the third quarter with 4 fouls. She returned within the fourth and made it a four-point sport with simply over six minutes left with a turnaround jumper. They ultimately pulled inside 68-66 when Courtney Williams scored with 3:40 remaining.
Then, from her spot within the nook, the one which she has changed into her signature shot, Laney-Hamilton had a window. A short one, however sufficient to get one thing off after Ionescu drove into the paint and flipped a no-look cross. And when the shot fell by the web, Vandersloot, from her spot on the bench, thought, “Hell yeah.”
“It was like [in Game 1] we kinda slowed all the way down to a tempo that may be a little bit awkward for us,” Stewart stated of the Liberty offense down the stretch. “We wish to play quick. We wish to transfer the ball. We wish to get downhill. We wish to rating, clearly. So ensuring that it doesn’t matter what, we proceed to play quick. We get good pictures. And we get that protection shifting.”
As an alternative of one other collapse, the Liberty stored their lead.
They hit the pictures that put video games away. This time, the Liberty didn’t want two free throws on the finish. This time, they averted the 2-0 gap that upended their franchise-best common season and every part the superteam constructed towards final 12 months — after they couldn’t get well from a convincing Recreation 1 from the Aces.
And on a day when a Lynx win would’ve all however eradicated the Liberty’s margin of error, they ensured that — at the very least till Wednesday — some semblance of that also exists. Their season nonetheless has some life.
