Five-time losing finalists, the New York Liberty, can finally call themselves WNBA champions after defeating the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime of a decisive Game 5 on Sunday night in Brooklyn.

Bahamian Jonquel Jones scored 17 points to lead New York, which was one of the original franchises in the league.

The win gave the city of New York its first basketball title since 1973, when the Knicks won the NBA championship.

With stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggling offensively, other players stepped up for the Liberty, mainly Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally.

Fiebich, a rookie from Germany, started off overtime with a three-pointer before Nyara Sabally had a steal for a layup to make it 65-60 and bring the sellout crowd to its feet.

Minnesota didn’t score in the extra period until Kayla McBride hit two free throws with 1:51 left.

The Lynx, five-time WNBA Champions, missed all six of their field goal attempts in overtime.

After Ionescu missed a shot with 21 seconds left, her 18th miss in 19 shot attempts, the Lynx had one last chance, but Bridget Carleton missed a three-pointer with 16 seconds left.

Stewart, who missed a free throw with 0.8 seconds left in Game 1, hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds left to seal the victory.

Jones was named Finals MVP with averages of 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 56 percent shooting throughout the five games.

During Game 5, Jones finished with 17 points, six rebounds and one assist to help the Liberty grab the title.

Cheryl Reeve lashed out at the officiating after her Minnesota Lynx team lost 67-62 to the New York Liberty in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.

The Liberty clinched their first championship with an overtime victory on Sunday.

Yet Reeve, who has won four titles with the Lynx, was left seething after a disputed foul handed New York's Breanna Stewart the chance to restore parity with 5.2 seconds of the game remaining in regulation time.

She did not hold back during her postgame media duties.

"We know we could have done some things, right, but you shouldn't have to overcome to that extent," Reeve said.

"This s*** ain't that hard. Officiating is not that hard.

"Bring it on, because that s*** was stolen from us.

"This is for a championship, for both teams. Let them decide it. What contact is legal should be the same for both teams."

Reeve was not the only big name to criticise the officiating.

LeBron James posted on X: "I'm sorry but that wasn't a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battle-tested game."

Damian Lillard posted on X, too.

"Refs called this game like they knew the assignment in the second half boy. Great game," he wrote.

While Reeve and the Lynx will have to accept defeat, the Liberty celebrated a famous moment in their history.

"This is something special right here and I'm trying not to cry," said Stewart, who finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.

"We had some ups and downs. This series was tough but we fought through because we wanted to bring it home to this city and this crowd."

Jonquel Jones top-scored with 17 points and was named the WNBA Finals MVP.

"I could never dream of this," said Jones. "It's the biggest moment and you have to lock in if you want to be a champion. It was all about this and us winning together because we really love each other."

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve knows it takes a "special mental toughness" to deal with the pressures of the WNBA Finals.

The Lynx are 2-1 down to the New York Liberty following a 77-80 defeat at home on Wednesday.

Minnesota blew a 15-point lead in front of a franchise-record home crowd, but four-time WNBA champion Reeve says the swings in momentum are part and parcel of a Finals series.

"There's so many ups and downs and swings all around, and it takes special mental toughness and physical toughness to sort of weather those swings, and here we are," said Reeve, who has been named WNBA Coach of the Year four times.

"We're disappointed. We're home. We played well and just couldn't come up with the win."

Having sunk half (10/20) of their shots in the opening quarter, the Lynx only converted 19 of 55 for the rest of the game.

They now face the prospect of having to be the first team to overturn a 2-1 deficit heading into the last two fixtures since they won the Finals in 2017.

"I feel like they were making plays at the end of shot clocks and like the coach said, we were getting really good looks," said Napheesa Collier, who finished with a team-leading 22 points for the Lynx.

"We just weren't executing on the offensive end. It's just hard when you get that and then obviously they are a great offensive team."

Breanna Stewart led for the Liberty with 30 points and 11 rebounds.

But Sabrina Ionescu was the hero for New York, with her 3-pointer coming with just two seconds remaining. The Liberty are now just one win away from their first championship.

Ionescu said: "I had to go look at the video really quickly to see how far I was.

"Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn't. I've practiced that shot a thousand times in my head, on the court, and I feel like that’s just something that as athletes, you put yourself in that position to want to be able to make a shot."

Breanna Stewart believes she showed resilience in bouncing back from New York Liberty's defeat in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, praising her team-mates for their support.

The Liberty avenged their shock defeat to the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday, this time holding off their comeback to win 80-66 in Game 2 on Sunday.

Stewart scored 21 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists, also setting a WNBA Finals single-game record with seven steals.

The two-time league MVP was disappointed with the performance in the opener but was much more upbeat after helping to level the series at 1-1.

"The moment the game ended Thursday, I was looking forward to Sunday," Stewart said.

"I can't strive to be the best, to be great, but then be afraid to fail. This is what happens when you put yourself in high-stress, important situations.

"You face possible failure. Yeah, I was upset because we could have won [Thursday's] game. But I'm happy I took the shots. Throughout this entire process, my team has my back every step of the way."

Having played the first two games at home, the Liberty now have two games at the Target Arena to look forward to.

"We embrace it; we like it when it's loud, when it's difficult," Stewart added of their trip to Minnesota. "Hopefully it's going to be an incredible atmosphere for both of those games.

"[It's about] not getting too high or too low; things are going to seem bigger than they are because they are playing at home. I'm sure Minny said the same thing when they're playing here."

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who struggled with knee injuries in the regular season, was also on top form, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finishing with 20 points for New York.

Having knocked down the 3-pointer to give the Liberty the lead ahead of their final surge, Laney-Hamilton is hopeful she will be able to build on this performance going forward.

"I think it gives me a little bit of momentum as we continue to go through the series," she said.

"It felt really good because I know I've been struggling, physically, mentally as I've been going through everything."

Game 3 takes place on Wednesday in Minnesota.

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve says she is "overwhelmingly proud" of her team after reaching the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years.

The Lynx capitalised on a strong start, claiming an 88-77 win over Connecticut Sun in Game 5 of the semi-finals.

It will be Minnesota's seventh WNBA Finals, a record for a team in the league. They have previously won four titles, the joint-most in the competition's history, and a win over the New York Liberty would move them outright top of the list.

Reeve, who has led the Lynx to all four of those previous titles, was full of praise for how the team saw out the win.

"I'm so proud. I can't tell you how badly our staff wanted it for them," she told reporters.

"It's a really special group. The number of people who have reached out to tell me how much they enjoy watching them play and that they're rooting for them is incredible.

"I feel overwhelmingly proud. We played Lynx basketball, and it was good to get back to it."

Napheesa Collier led the team, tallying 27 points and 11 rebounds, with Courtney Williams also contributing 24 points to help them to the win.

Reeve was impressed by both players, but in particular by the work that Collier has put in this season.

"What makes [Collier] special is her consistency and the way she shows up every single day," Reeve added.

"She's always the same, her work ethic, her demeanour, her passion for improving. She's just been incredible.

"It's more than scoring how she helps this team. When she plays like the MVP, our team is where it needs to be."

The Lynx, who finished second in the league and two games behind the Liberty during the regular season, have won three of four matchups with New York this year. That includes the WNBA Commissioner's Cup on June 25 to take the in-season tournament title.

The Finals begin with Game 1 on October 10.

Napheesa Collier tallied 27 points and 11 rebounds and Courtney Williams contributed 24 points and both-ends-of-the-court energy to lead the Minnesota Lynx past the Connecticut Sun 88-77 and into the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years on Tuesday night.

Kayla McBride fueled a strong start with 10 of her 19 points in the first quarter for the Lynx, who advanced to face the top-seeded New York Liberty in Game 1 on Thursday night.

The Lynx, who finished second in the league and two games behind the Liberty during the regular season, have won three of four matchups with New York this year. That includes the WNBA Commissioner's Cup on June 25 to take the in-season tournament title.

DiJonai Carrington had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Brionna Jones added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Sun, who shot 38.5% from the field (25 for 65) and were forced into 19 turnovers that the Lynx converted into 22 points.

DeWanna Bonner had 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting for the Sun, who were ousted in the semifinals for the fourth time in six years. They lost in the finals in those other two seasons, 2019 and 2022, when Williams was part of the core that still hasn't cleared that last hurdle to the franchise's first title.

The Connecticut Sun must dig deep to claim a place in the WNBA Finals when they face the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of their semifinal matchup, says coach Stephanie White.

The Sun pulled out a dramatic 92-82 win in Game 4 on Sunday and tee up a decider for Tuesday, evening up the series at 2-2.

Alyssa Thomas led Connecticut with 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in Game 4, keeping the Sun's hopes of a fifth finals appearance – and a second in three years – alive.

White expects both teams to step things up a gear for the decider, warning the Sun have no margin for error if they are to advance.

"Both of these franchises have been here," White said. "We have a lot of players on our roster that have been here that understand certainly what it takes and that effort is not going to be good enough.

"We expect them to make adjustments. We'll make some tweaks and adjustments as well. ... It's about players making plays.

"It's about the extra efforts, the hustle plays. It's about not being denied and finding something deep inside of you that just allows you to come out on top."

Napheesa Collier carried Minnesota in Game 4, finishing with 29 points and 13 boards, and she believes having home advantage at Target Center could be crucial on Tuesday.

"You work so hard in the regular season because you want this advantage," Collier said.

"Obviously you want to go home for that game and since we are, it's really nice to have that homecourt advantage." 

Diana Taurasi has been hailed as one of the greatest players in the history of the WNBA.

Taurasi, who is the WNBA's all-time scoring leader, has eluded that the curtain may have closed on her glittering 20-year stint in the sport.

It means she may have played her last game in the Phoenix Mercury's 101-88 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday. 

The 42-year-old has had a storied basketball career at all levels that she has competed at, winning three NCAA National Championships at UConn early in her career. 

She then triumphed in three WNBA Championships with the Mercury and earned six Olympic gold medals, winning at every Games since 2004 in Athens. 

Taurasi has also racked up several records along the way for points (10,646), free throws made (2,517), field goals made (3,341) and three-pointers made (1,447) in a career. 

After she fouled out of Wednesday's contest, Taurasi, who finished with 10 points, left the court to a standing ovation.

A potential departure from the sport saw her teammates laud her impact in the WNBA, with Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts thankful for his time with her.

"We'll see what she decides to do," Tibbetts said. 

"It's kind of been her approach the whole way, but personally, I'd just like to thank her [as] a new coach coming into a new league. 

"The way that she welcomed me and helped me through this season. What an opportunity for me to coach the greatest ever, and I'm super thankful for that."

Taurasi still proved that age is just a number, becoming the first player in WNBA history to score 20-plus in a playoff game after the age of 40 in Game 1. 

"I've never seen somebody come in, day in, day out, do the exact same thing and add to it so she can stay on this court," Mercury’s Brittney Griner said.

"I've always said I credit a lot of my game to the way I read it, the way I can see things developing on the court, to [Taurasi].

"But I'm also lucky to take away life lessons from [Taurasi], too."

Natasha Cloud added: "[Taurasi] is one of the GOATs of this game. She will forever go down as one of the greatest to ever touch this ball."

The Phoenix Mercury’s season ended Wednesday night with a 101-88 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of a first-round WNBA play-off series.

The loss may have also ended the illustrious career of Diana Taurasi.

The 42-year-old hasn’t officially said she will retire, but she alluded to retirement while addressing Mercury fans after the team’s regular-season finale last Thursday.

“If it is the last time, it felt like the first time,” she said from centre court.

If this was her final game, it caps one of the most decorated careers by an American basketball player.

As the winner of an incredible six Olympic gold medals, Taurasi secured her first gold at the 2000 Athens Games and her most recent at this summer’s Paris Games.

She also won three straight American collegiate national championships at UConn in 2002, 2003 and 2004, another three WNBA titles in 2007, 2009 and 2014, and six Euroleague championships.

Her entire WNBA career was spent with Phoenix after being selected first overall in the 2004 draft.

She made an immediate impact, winning rookie of the year honours in 2004 and was named league MVP for the 2009 season.

A 10-time all-WNBA first-team selection, Taurasi was named to her 11th WNBA All-Star Game this past season and would have almost certainly been chosen to more, but there were no All-Star Games in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016 or 2020.

She’s the WNBA’s all-time leader in points scored – about 3,000 more than the next-closest player in Tina Charles – the top scorer in the WNBA play-offs, and is the league’s all-time record holder in 3-pointers made.

Despite concluding her 20th season in the WNBA, she is still playing at a high level.

She averaged 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the regular season before scoring 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range in Monday’s 102-95 loss in Game 1.

Taurasi had 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting with four rebounds and three assists before fouling out with 2:34 remaining in Game 2.

She left to a standing ovation from the Minnesota crowd before Napheesa Collier, who tied a WNBA playoff record with 42 points for the Lynx, came over to the Mercury bench for a brief handshake with her fellow UConn star.

If Taurasi ultimately decides to call it a career, she’ll be remembered as one of the greatest women’s basketball players in history.