Liberty hold on for 80-66 win over Lynx in Game 2 to tie up WNBA Finals at 1-1

The New York Liberty evened the championship series on Sunday, defeating the Minnesota Lynx 80-66 to bring the WNBA Finals to 1-1.

Although the Lynx threatened another comeback after taking the wild overtime win in Game 1, New York was victorious.

Game 2 seemed to follow a similar storyline as Game 1. The Liberty took an early double-digit lead before the Lynx closed the gap in the second half. This time, New York held on to the lead and got a 14-point win over Minnesota in front of a record 18,040 fans at Barclays Center.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who has been dealing with a knee injury, went off for the Liberty, becoming a key difference-maker behind a season-high 20 points. Meanwhile, Breanna Stewart was key on both offense and defense, putting up 21 points, eight rebounds and seven steals.

From the jump, New York forced Minnesota into five early turnovers, building up a 10-point lead to end the first quarter. The Liberty were up by as many as 16 in the second quarter and eventually went into the locker room with a 49-39 halftime lead.

With the help of Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier — who are both on outstanding postseason runs — the Lynx got within four points of the Liberty in the third quarter. But Stewart had other ideas, getting a massive block and a long 2 to close out the third frame with an eight-point lead.

Although New York brought things back to a double-digit lead to start the fourth quarter, a reckless closeout foul from Courtney Vandersloot gave Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman three free throws and a chance to change the game’s momentum. Hiedeman missed the first, prompting a great cheer from the sold-out Liberty crowd, before making the next two. Shortly after, Collier scored another tough layup to get Minnesota within four points, and then another to get within two.

Stewart got two key-back-to-back steals, with Jonquel Jones finishing to make it a two-score game again. Williams quickly got a driving layup to bring it back, but Laney-Hamilton got a big 3-pointer to change the momentum again.

New York went on a 7-0 run in the final minutes of the game, capped off by Leonie Fiebich making a massive, uncontested 3-pointer that fired up the fans and gave the Liberty a bit more breathing room.

New York capped things off with a few more points and an exclamation point from Jones to take the 80-66 win.

Besides Laney-Hamilton and Stewart, Jones and Sabrina Ionescu earned double-digits of their own, with Jones scoring 14 points and Ionescu ending with 15 after a huge 12-point first quarter.

On the Lynx, Collier ended with 16 points, eight rebounds and four steals, while Williams had 15 points and eight assists. Alanna Smith chipped in 14 points.

The two teams will now travel to Minnesota to continue the Finals, with guaranteed games on Wednesday and Friday now that the series is tied.