Sabrina Ionescu started off poorly, missing her first shot, which hit the side of the backboard, and another attempt that went nowhere. After hitting a famous game-winning shot in Game 3, she struggled significantly afterward.
On Sunday, Ionescu ended up making just 1 out of 19 shots, and Breanna Stewart didn’t perform much better. Fortunately for the New York Liberty, Jonquel Jones stepped up with a standout performance, helping her teammates.
Jones scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Liberty’s 67-62 overtime win against the Minnesota Lynx, earning the WNBA Finals MVP award.
“Her dominance in the paint, on the boards, help-side defense, everything that we needed, she was there,” Stewart said. “She had to wait a while to get to this point, to get to the finals to win a championship. But the wait was worth it.”
Ionescu finished with five points but also had eight assists and seven rebounds. Stewart managed to score 13 points and secured 15 rebounds, shooting 4 for 15.
“Just did whatever it took to win,” Ionescu said during the trophy presentation. “Believed in my teammates, believed in this entire organization. It takes everyone. You don’t do this alone, and we did it in New York.”
The Liberty aimed to create a super-team capable of winning titles by bringing in Stewart from Seattle, where she was a two-time WNBA Finals MVP, and Jones from Connecticut, who had previously lost in the 2019 finals, to join Ionescu, their first-round pick from the 2020 draft.
The Liberty reached the WNBA Finals last year and had the best record in the league this season, but it looked like they might miss out on a title as Ionescu and Stewart struggled with their shots.
Ionescu started the game by missing her first 13 attempts, making it 15 misses in a row since Game 4, before finally scoring with a 3-pointer that put the Liberty ahead 56-52 with just over three minutes left.
However, when Minnesota took a 60-58 lead, it seemed like the stars’ difficulties would cost the Liberty the game. Stewart missed two free throws with 38 seconds left, but the Liberty grabbed the rebound. Ionescu then missed a 3-pointer and another shot after New York regained the ball.
The game went to overtime after Stewart made two free throws with 5.2 seconds left in regulation. Remembering her earlier misses, she thought, “No, I can’t do this again, I can’t. I have to be here.”
In overtime, New York secured the win with baskets from Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally.
The Liberty had hoped to avoid a Game 5 after Ionescu’s long shot led them to victory in Game 3. However, she shot 5 for 16 in Game 4, missing all five of her 3-point attempts, and Stewart only managed 11 points on 5 for 20 shooting.
Jones, who went 6 for 6 in Game 5, was the key player for the Liberty, averaging 18 points and eight rebounds in the series. She scored 10 points in the first half on Sunday, helping keep the Liberty competitive while Ionescu and Stewart only combined for five points from Stewart.
“What makes her difficult is you’re spending a lot of time guarding Sabrina and Stewie in some of those schemes that created mismatches,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. “But we’re going to live with some of that.”
