Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty were left reflecting on what could have happened.
The Liberty held an 18-point lead in the first half and had an 11-point advantage with 3:23 left in regulation before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals slipped away, taking with it their homecourt advantage in the best-of-five series.
The two-time MVP had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but her second free throw missed the rim. She then had another chance to tie the game at the buzzer in overtime, but her layup missed the basket, giving the Lynx a 95-93 win.
“I want to be taking these shots. I feel like knowing my teammates and that everyone has confidence in me is important. It’s kind of like on to the next and still making sure I’m aggressive any time on the court,” Stewart said. “Obviously as a player, it’s very frustrating. But bounce back for Game 2.”
When asked which moment hurt more, Stewart chose the missed free throw.
“I think the missed free throw because we had an opportunity to go up one,” said Stewart, who has an 84% career free-throw shooting rate. “But even still, at the end of overtime, I had probably one of my cleanest looks. Didn’t make it.”
Everything started well for New York as they scored 32 points in the first quarter. However, they only managed 12 points in the second quarter, allowing Minnesota to come back and start their historic rally.
New York has now experienced both sides of 18-point comebacks in the Finals. They came back from 18 points down in Game 2 of the 1999 Finals and won against Houston with Teresa Weatherspoon’s famous halfcourt buzzer beater.
With this loss on Thursday night, New York’s record in Game 1 of the Finals fell to 0-6 in franchise history. The Liberty, who had the best regular-season record, were left shaking their heads after the game.
