The No. 1-seed New York Liberty, only one win away from their first-ever WNBA championship, tackle the No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx this Friday, Oct. 18 in Recreation 4 of the 2024 WNBA Finals. The nationally-televised matchup can be broadcast on ESPN and is scheduled to tip-off at roughly 8 p.m. ET.
New York is coming off an exhilarating 80-77 win in Recreation 3, one which noticed All-WNBA First Group honoree Breanna Stewart play at her best possible (30 factors, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks) and Sabrina Ionescu hit what’s going to go down as some of the iconic pictures in WNBA playoff historical past. Whereas New York struggled to attain effectively for a lot of the sport, Stewart put the group on her again within the second half to steer a double-digit comeback, and Ionescu nailed a deep 3-point shot with only one second remaining in regulation to place the Liberty up for good.
Now, the Liberty—one of many WNBA’s authentic franchises—are in place to win a title for the very first time. New York has beforehand made 5 Finals appearances (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2023), however got here up brief every time, so this 12 months’s Liberty perceive what a championship would imply for longtime followers. On the similar time, the Liberty know they haven’t gained something simply but, and that they’ll must play higher than they did final Wednesday to seal the deal.
“[The Lynx are] going to provide us their greatest shot. They’re going to provide all the things they’ve bought, and you recognize what? So are we,” Stewart informed media after Recreation 3. “There’s lots of issues we didn’t do proper tonight. We’re completely happy we bought this win, however the job’s not finished.”
In a state of affairs much like Recreation 1 of the Finals, by which the Lynx erased an enormous deficit and got here again to defeat the Liberty within the closing seconds, New York spent a lot of Recreation 3 enjoying catch-up. Minnesota had gotten off to a sizzling begin, fueled by 10 first-half Liberty turnovers, and although Stewart willed New York again into the sport within the third quarter, it was largely a back-and-forth affair after that.
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The unstable nature of a WNBA Finals collection is one thing that Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who has gained 4 championships with Minnesota, is properly conscious of. “It takes particular psychological toughness and bodily toughness to climate these swings,” Reeve stated. “It’s necessary that you simply don’t get too excessive whenever you win and too low whenever you lose.”
Reeve went on to emphasise the significance of the Lynx merely making extra pictures, and whereas it sounds easy sufficient, two of the collection’ three video games have been determined within the closing seconds and will have been swung in the other way with only one or two baskets. It goes to point out not solely how evenly matched the Liberty and Lynx are, but in addition how stout the 2 groups have been on protection; there’s loads of scoring prowess on each rosters, and but every of the three video games performed up to now have been slower-paced and are available all the way down to pinpoint execution within the halfcourt.
It’s now as much as Minnesota to be the group that executes higher—and never only for one quarter. The Lynx will get one closing alternative this season to defend their house courtroom, because the collection will shift again to New York for a deciding Recreation 5, if mandatory. They’ll be trying to their celebrity, Defensive Participant of the Yr Napheesa Collier, together with Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith (who just isn’t on Minnesota’s damage report regardless of struggling a again damage in Recreation 3) to play their greatest and assist even the collection.
Recreation data
No. 1-seed New York Liberty (2-1) vs. No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx (1-2)
When: Friday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. ET
The place: Goal Middle in Minneapolis, MN
Learn how to watch: ESPN
Liberty damage report: none
Lynx damage report: none
