Liberty Discuss Responsibility of Game 1 Downfall

The New York Liberty aren't blaming anyone but themselves for Thursday night's stunning defeat.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

BROOKLYN -- Every instant classic in sports features a heartbroken vanquished party and the New York Liberty was forced to assume the role on Sunday.

New York endured a historic fall in Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals, as they watched a 15-point lead established just before the midway mark of the fourth quarter become a 95-93 overtime victory for the Minnesota Lynx. MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier provided the double dagger in the fifth period, hitting a fadeaway with eight seconds remaining before providing clean defense on Breanna Stewart's would-be equalizer as time expired.

As the Liberty led by as much as 18, it was the largest advantage lost in WNBA Finals history ... tying a mark the 1999 New Yorkers set in Game 2 against the Houston Comets.

"I think they took us out of what we wanted to run," head coach Sandy Brondello said of the final five minutes of regulation. "They were really aggressive. They were blowing up stuff. We couldn't get clear passes. We tried to go downhill and they would stunt and get back, and we just got a little bit stagnant. I thought we were slow. We were up so you're trying to move the ball, but then we are slow in our speed, execution speed, and then it was making it easy for them."

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

"We were up a lot, and I think we kind of were looking at the clock, and it seemed that we kind of took our foot off the gas a little bit," point guard Sabrina Ionescu added. "It ended up kind of biting us in the butt there late."

The final part of Minnesota's lengthy run, which ended at an 18-2 margin, came when Minnesota's Courtney Williams sank a three-pointer off the feed from an Alanna Smith rebounds as Ionescu fouled her with just over five seconds to go. Williams sank the subsequent free throw to tip off a chaotic five seconds that eventually yielded overtime thanks to a split pair of free throws from Stewart, who got to the foul line with just over a second remaining in the fourth.

Stewart was obviously peeved about the miss but Brondello noted that the game was lost before ... and after ... the fateful misfire. Of note, New York jumped out to a 32-19 lead after shooting 50 percent in the opening period but failed to sustain the early momentum.

"I just thought we went away from our principles of play. I think we had a great first quarter, and then they lifted up the energy and they outhustled us," Brondello said. "I think we forced some of the action. We weren't moving it good enough. We couldn't get downhill as much. You know, we missed a lot of shots. We missed a lot of shots."

To Brondello's point, New York put up 90 shots in the four-plus periods, setting a single-game Finals record. Only 34, however, fell through, including just 22 after the first. The Liberty might've reached triple digits if not for untimely turnovers, including three in a row during the extra session.

"We had a lot of opportunities to close the game out," Jonquel Jones concurred. "There were a few things that we have to change and kind of be aware of moving forward, but still some things to build upon and things to learn from."

"We came out punching and then they picked it up in the second quarter," rookie Leonie Fiebich added. "They were more physical, they're in passing lanes, or disruptive, getting deflections. All of that they didn't do in the first quarter. So I feel like we got a little bit comfortable in the second one."

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

While one has to wonder what the rest of the series could possibly do for an encore, the Liberty took relative solace in the fact that Thursday's classic was just Game 1 of a best-of-five set. Game 2 will be staged on Sunday afternoon on Atlantic Avenue (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

"We can have tonight and we can, feel bad about this, but when you leave this building, you have to think about moving on and being able to put this behind us," veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot firmly declared. "We can't just dwell in this loss. We still have games ahead of us, and we still have a great opportunity. We have to remember that we can't let one loss dictate the rest of how we play, how we respond."

"We're disappointed. We have to go back to work," Brondello added. "We have to look at how we can be better, and it's really just principles of play, things that we have been great at all season long, we have to just refocus on them."

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