The Minnesota Lynx could taste it. They were just seconds away from winning the 2024 WNBA title on Sunday against the New York Liberty. With the Lynx up by two points with just five seconds left in the fourth quarter of Game 5, Liberty star Breanna Stewart drew a foul from Minnesota’s Alanna Smith, thus sending Stewart to the free-throw line for a chance to tie the game.
It was the most controversial call in perhaps the most-talked-about moment of the 2024 WNBA Finals.
Stewart made both freebies and the rest was history. The game was sent to overtime and the Liberty took over from there, as a seemingly demoralized Lynx couldn’t muster enough energy to keep up with New York, which ended up on top via a 67-62 score.
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve blasts WNBA Finals officiating
Reeve did not hide her feelings about how Game 5 of the series was officiated.
“We know we could have done some things, right, but you shouldn’t have to overcome to that extent,” Reeve said, per Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. “This s—- ain’t that hard. Officiating is not that hard.”
“Bring it on,” Reeve added about becoming part of the headlines with her rant. “That s—- was stolen from us.”
There was also the fact that the Lynx only got eight tries from the free-throw line in the entire game while the Liberty went 21-for-25 from the charity stripe. It was a tough loss to swallow, to say the least, for the Lynx, who forced a winner-take-all Game 5 despite losing twice in the first three games of the series.
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