Napheesa Collier hits game-winner to lead Minnesota Lynx past Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty in WNBA Finals

NEW YORK — UConn women’s basketball legends went head-to-head in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday, and it was Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx who emerged from the overtime thriller with a 95-93 victory over Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty at Barclays Center.

The fourth quarter ended in dramatic fashion as Courtney Williams gave Minnesota its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer with less than five seconds left on the clock. New York got two attempts at a game-winner, both of which landed in Stewart’s hands. Collier blocked the first, but she was called for a foul against Stewart as she attempted another block on the second shot. The packed home crowd exploded as Stewart made her first shot, but she missed the second to send the game to overtime tied 84-84.

Collier scored Minnesota’s first points of overtime by taking a defensive rebound coast-to-coast as the Lynx continued to ride their positive momentum. The teams went shot-for-shot as Minnesota clung to a single-score lead in the final two minutes, but Jonquel Jones hit a game-tying layup for New York with under 30 seconds to play. Stewart then blocked a potential game-winner from Williams, but Collier sealed the victory with one of her signature fadeaway jumpers to put Minnesota back in front. Stewart had an attempt at the game-tying layup, but the shot rimmed out.

“I think the missed free throw (was more disappointing), just because then we had the opportunity to go up one. But even still, at the end of overtime I had probably one of my cleanest looks and didn’t make it,” Stewart said. “I want to be taking these shots, and I feel like knowing that my teammates and everyone has confidence in me is important. It’s kind of like on to the next and still making sure that I’m gonna be aggressive anytime I’m on the court. Obviously as a player, it’s very frustrating, but we’ll bounce back for Game 2.

Minnesota is the first team in WNBA Playoffs history to trail by 15-plus points in the final five minutes and come back to win. According to ESPN, teams were previously 0-183 in that scenario. Now with a 1-0 lead in the series, the Lynx will face New York again in Brooklyn for Game 2 on Sunday.

“It defines our team in terms of being able to get through difficult times,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “You have to be mentally tough, resilient. You have to look inward and not blame other people and give each other confidence, and we were that team … We got big stops when we needed them. Whether the ball’s gone out of bounds, or 50-50 balls, referees, whatever happens — jump balls, fouls, all that stuff — we just had to be gritty at the end. We had to get stops to win. That’s what I’m proudest of.”

Stewart spearheaded New York’s smothering defensive effort against Collier in the first half, holding the Minnesota superstar scoreless for seven minutes of the first quarter. The Liberty were aggressive with their switching and double teams on Collier, who is averaging 27 points in the postseason. Though she was still highly efficient shooting 57%, she took only seven field goal attempts in the first half despite averaging 20 per game in the playoffs.

The Liberty settled into an early offensive rhythm as the Lynx struggled to find production with Collier limited, falling behind by as many as 18 points before fighting back to an eight-point deficit at halftime. Stewart put up five points in her first six minutes on the court, and she also controlled the early rebounding battle against Collier.

Stewart gave New York an explosive start to the game, hitting a splashy 3-pointer over Collier’s outstretched fingers to extend a 9-0 Liberty run over the opening minutes. But Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, shifted the momentum back towards the Lynx late in the first with a block on the 6-foot-4 Stewart immediately after hitting a jump shot that got Minnesota back within 10 points.

“It’s just taking it one possession at a time,” Collier said. “We’ve been in situations where we’ve been down before, and that’s when we’ve really got to lean on our defense, so that was something we were talking about: Getting three stops in a row, chipping at it a little bit at a time, not thinking about the point difference but thinking about the possession, that we need to get a stop and then score … Every game I try to go and impact defensively, especially when they’re going on a run like that. (New York) has amazing offensive players, so I’m just trying to be as disruptive as I can.”

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Collier didn’t have her usual production throughout regulation on the glass with eight rebounds after averaging 9.6 through the rest of the playoffs. New York dominated with Stewart’s length alongside former MVP center Jonquel Jones, out-rebounding the Lynx 44-32. Stewart finished with nine boards, while Jones led the team with 10 plus 24 points for a double-double.

Minnesota trailed 68-61 entering the fourth quarter, but Collier took her rebounding effort to new level with both of her offensive boards coming in the final two minutes. She finished with 21 points shooting 10-for-16 from the field, also leading the Lynx with three steals and tying a postseason career high with six blocks. Stewart logged 18 points, three assists and two blocks for New York but shot just 28.5%.

“It is (about) the (rebounding) margin, but … when it mattered we got some hustle plays, and we always say you never know which one’s going to put the difference between winning and losing,” Reeve said. “That last possession, I think we learned from an earlier playoff game when we were down how we wanted to play that last possession — being aggressive and getting the three ball and doing what we had to do if one didn’t go in to get as many chances as we could get.”