How the Liberty beat the Lynx to win 2024 WNBA championship - ESPN

Mission accomplished. The New York Liberty have finally won their first WNBA championship.

New York needed a decisive Game 5 — and the first overtime in a winner-take-all game in WNBA Finals history — but Sunday, it beat the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in extra time to capture its first title after 28 seasons. A franchise full of near-misses and heartache, losing in five previous attempts at a title, New York at last added «WNBA champion» to its legacy.

It didn't come easy. New York trailed by as many as 12 points and didn't hit a 3-pointer until late in regulation. Sabrina Ionescu shot 1-for-19 and didn't score until the third quarter. And Breanna Stewart was 4-for-15 from the field.

So how did the Liberty do it? Which players stepped up alongside WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones? ESPN takes a look at four keys to how New York put the finishing touches on its title run and the only WNBA Finals with multiple overtime games.

On a night when Stewart and Ionsecu struggled mightily with their shooting, the Liberty needed someone to step up. Nyara Sabally was averaging 3.4 points heading into Sunday, but the 6-foot-5 reserve center scored 13 points in a playoff-high 17 minutes, contributions that made all the difference.

It wasn't just her production; Sabally brought an energy and fearlessness that had been missing. The Liberty trailed by seven points at halftime but swung the game in the third quarter to take a three-point lead entering the fourth. Sabally scored the basket that tied the score at 38 with 3:33 left in the third period, and the layup 26 seconds later that gave New York its first lead. Sabally scored nine of her 13 points in the third. She also got the defensive rebound, one of her eight boards, that essentially iced the