Everyone in the building knew who was going to get the ball.
Or at least they thought they knew.
After the Minnesota Lynx took a 15-point first-half lead in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday, and after the Liberty fought back with a third-quarter burst and took their first lead of the game In the final moments of the fourth quarter, Napheesa Collier made two free throws to tie the score at 77 with 16 seconds left.
Liberty head coach Sandy Bordello immediately called a timeout. Breanna Stewart – freshly named to the All-WNBA first team – scored a game-high 30 points.
The ball was expected to come to her.
This is not the case.
Instead, it went to Sabrina Ionescu, who spotted well beyond the three-point line and hit a game-winning three-pointer to lift the Liberty to an 80-77 victory over the Lynx on Wednesday.
Ionescu was 2-of-7 from downtown and just 4-of-11 from the field before the cold-blooded bucket carried New York to victory.
The Liberty have now taken a 2-1 lead over the Lynx and are one win away from giving the franchise its first championship in its history. They’ll have to take care of business on the road in Game 4, or return to the Barclays Center for sudden death in Game 5.
Yet that’s what champions do: they find a way to win when defeat seems imminent.
The Liberty spent three and a half quarters on a one-way train to a 1-2 deficit in the WNBA Finals.
And then it clicked.
Early turnover issues quickly became a thing of the past.
So did the defensive miscues, mostly leaving Minnesota Lynx sharpshooter Kayla McBride open on numerous occasions during the first half.
Cold three-point shooting also became a distant memory: The Liberty got off to just a 4-of-15 start from downtown, but finished Game 3 10-of-25.
Victory heals all.
And the victory was for the Liberty, who dug an early hole, then fought back in the third quarter, when they cut their 15-point lead to eight, then took their first lead since 5-4 in the first quarter at the end of the final period, thanks to consecutive baskets from Jonquel Jones.
What a poetic evening: On the same day that Stewart, Ionescu and Jones became the first trio of teammates in Liberty franchise history to earn All-WNBA team honors in the same season, they brought the franchise of basketball immortality.
Of the six other such trios in WNBA history, five have won a championship together during their tenure as teammates.
A championship will not be easy. The Lynx will not go down without a fight. In fact, Alanna Smith’s injury could be the cause of Minnesota’s second-half slump.
The Liberty can’t afford to let McBride torch them from downtown either. McBride connected on five of her nine three-point attempts for 19 points in Game 3.
Stewart finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-20 shooting from the field, and Jones and Ionescu each added 13 points, none more timely than their pivotal heroics – first Jones to give the Liberty the lead, then Ionescu to seal the deal.
Can the Liberty do it again?
They will have two chances to make WNBA history, the first of which will take place Friday in Minnesota. If they lose there, they will have the opportunity to close out the series in front of their own home fans.
