After 27 years with no championship title, the New York Liberty won their first-ever WNBA final 67-62 in a nail-biting game five against the Minnesota Lynx. A controversial foul called against the Lynx led the game into overtime and Jonquel Jones led the Liberty with 17 points which earned her MVP.

Game five, Liberty vs. Lynx. It had been a suspenseful series with two overtimes already between these two teams. With Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu hitting buzzer-beater half courts, and Napheesa Collier of the Lynx driving it into the paint, game five was unpredictable.

The game started with a struggling Liberty offense as two of their most solid players, Brianna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, failed to make shots although they remained strong players on the rest of the court. At half the score was 27-34 favoring the Lynx.

During the third quarter, the Liberty found their groove with Jones aggressively putting pressure on a weakening Lynx defense. The fourth quarter saw an intense back-and-forth game with Jones, Stewart, Ionescu, and rookie Nyalla Sabally stepping up to the intense game. In the last moments of regular gameplay, Liberty was down 58-60, but a foul drawn by Stewart and two successful free throws continued the game into overtime. Minnesota challenged the call, but, after a lengthy review, the call stood. Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve remained frustrated with the call and claimed the title was “stolen” from her team. After the foul, Liberty furthered their momentum and the Lynx only scored once in overtime. The game ended 67-62 with Liberty earning their first WNBA title.