New York wins first WNBA championship after falling in previous five appearances in the Finals

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty have their first WNBA championship after falling in the title round in their previous five appearances.

An original franchise when the league tipped off in 1997, the Liberty have competed in a one-game, best-of-three and best-of-five format. It took a little extra time to do it, as New York needed five games and OT to beat Minnesota.

Here’s a look at their previous appearances in the championship:

1997 lost to Houston in one game

The Liberty lost the inaugural championship as they had no answer for league MVP Cynthia Cooper. She scored 14 of her 25 points in the second half — the league played two halves back then. The Comets used a 10-0 run to open up a tight game. Tina Thompson added 18 points in the 65-51 win. Kym Hampton had 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead New York.

1999 lost to Houston in three games

The 1999 Finals were the most competitive of the three meetings between Houston and New York with the Liberty forcing three games. New York lost the opener at home and were faced with the daunting task of needing to win two games in Houston for the title. All looked lost when Thompson banked in a shot with 2.4 seconds left to give the Comets a 67-65 lead. Teresa Weatherspoon took the inbounds pass and dribbled to halfcourt and heaved the ball up, banking it in at the buzzer to even the best-of-three series with Houston. The Liberty lost to the Comets by 12 points less than 24 hours later in the deciding game.

2000 lost to Houston in two games

The third time wasn’t the charm for the Liberty, falling to Houston for the third time in four years. The Liberty lost the opener at home, getting behind early. They were down 29-22 at the break and then 10 early in the second half before cutting it to 52-50 on two free throws by Weatherspoon with 52 seconds left. Unfortunately, Cooper answered with a three-point play 26 seconds later. New York gave it all it had in Game 2 before falling in overtime. The back-and-forth game saw New York leading 64-61 with 21 seconds left before Cooper hit a game-tying 3-pointer. In overtime, Sue Wicks hit a 3-pointer with 2:14 left to give New York a 70-69 lead before Houston scored 10 of the final 13 points to seal the title.

2002 lost to Los Angeles in two games

New York lost Game 1 at home despite 18 points from Becky Hammon. In Game 2, the game was tied with 2.1 seconds left before Nikki Teasley hit a 3-pointer to give the Sparks the lead. Weatherspoon tried to hit another halfcourt shot at the buzzer, but her shot was blocked and the Sparks won their second consecutive title, a feat that wouldn’t be matched until the Las Vegas Aces did it in 2022 and 2023.

2023 lost to Las Vegas in four games

Set the foundation for this year’s championship. The Liberty started on the road, dropping the first two games to Las Vegas before returning home. They won the third game and it looked like the tide had turned in their favor with injuries to Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes. New York was down 70-64 with 1:27 left before rallying to within one. They couldn’t get over the hump.

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