Highlights and Lowlights - Unabashed NY Liberty Fans Edition

Last night was game five of the WNBA Finals, and it was such an epic conclusion to an epic series after an epic season that we decided every single one of our highlights and lowlights this week would be from that game.

Note: We were rooting for the Liberty, so these are all SEVERELY biased. Sorry, not sorry.

Highlight: LIBERTY WIN

Liz Koetting: This one is probably obvious, but it had to be first. Did they look like they were going to win the whole thing? No, not until overtime. But they pulled it off. I can’t believe this team just won its FIRST championship. They’re the last of the original teams to win a title and it took them 28 years. That feels impossible even as I know it’s true.  Congratulations to the Liberty, and, of course, especially to Ellie.

Sam Gray: NEW YORK OR NOWHERE! Whew, what a GAME. If Liz and I were together, we would have stared at each other with wary expressions at the start of this game – not the most amazing takeoff for a final championship game! Once the Liberty closed the gap a bit, I began watching through my fingers, as I watch most close sporting events. Not sure if my nerves have recovered. And, yes, congratulations especially to Big Ellie, who was as emotional as us all after the final buzzer. I’m glad they won it in Brooklyn. 

Question, how much championship merch is too much? 

LK: The limit does not exist, tbh.

Lowlight: New York looked so disorganized!

LK: And not just disorganized, but not like themselves. Breanna Stewart is one of the best women’s basketball players in history, but you would not have been able to tell by her shooting percentage (39.1% in the playoffs versus 45.8% in the regular season; only one player on the opposing Lynx was shooting below 40% from the field in the playoffs). Sabrina Ionescu couldn’t make a three for love or money. The two of them only shot 16% from the field in last night’s game which is WILD. For a team that relies on its star power, that could have meant falling short.

SG: Admittedly, I’m somewhat new to basketball overall, so a team’s nuanced performance is sometimes lost on me. But even I noticed this. It seemed such a switch-up from their confident execution of Game 3, and I kept thinking about what it would take for them to get their heads back in the game. Liz makes a good point – and the broadcast mentioned this too – about Liberty relying heavily on its star power versus its team strength, like the Lynx. It almost cost them. And, yeah - could not hit a 3 to save their lives. 

Highlight: Standout performances (on both sides).

LK: On the flip side, there were players that stepped up when it counted. In the awards ceremony, Holly Rowe made sure to call out Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally for their amazing play. Sabally even got a crowd chant for her clutch showing off the bench. Teams need more than just superstars to win championships, and the lesser-known names on the Liberty proved that last night. Of course, their MVP Jonquel Jones, also had quite the series. That was a well-deserved trophy. And of course, there were standout performances on the Lynx side as well … (cue Sam gushing about Napheesa Collier).

SG: How did you know!? In Game 3, Napheesa shattered the all-time single postseason scoring record, hitting 249 points and beating out Mercury veteran guard Diana Turasi’s previous (15 year!) record of 245. She’s also tied for the most points scored in a single playoff game and posted the most steals in a WNBA Finals series. She’s ALSO the only player in WNBA playoff history to average 40 points per game in any series. There are even more accomplishments than this, and I’m excited to see what she does next season.

Lowlight: The Lynx defense (again, for us personally)!

LK: Holy frustratingly good D, Batman. They were RELENTLESS. To the point where I could feel my blood boiling, heh. Not many Finals games in the last 10 years have had final scores in the 60s, which is a testament not just to the poor shooting percentages mentioned before, but also to the absolutely tenacious defense of the Minnesota Lynx.

SG: One of my mantras during sports that I was repeating constantly last night is “Just let us score!” Yes, I’m on the team too if you didn’t know. 

Highlight: “This is what can happen when you invest in women.”

LK: This sentiment was echoed throughout the entire broadcast (which was stellar, I ADORE the studio analysts for the WNBA), and was driven home in the postgame by Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai and reporter Holly Rowe. And we’re talking about investing not only monetary resources, which are obviously incredibly important, but care and attention as well. Holly made sure to remind us that this level of gameplay and excitement is the direct result of INVESTING IN WOMEN. She also made sure to name players who deserved recognition, and she signed off with excitement and hope for the 2025 season to be even better.   

SG: It seems so obvious, right? It’s incredible what can happen and what we can accomplish when given support and opportunity. And – yeah, how fucking excited are y’all for what’s next? Golden State Valkyries tip-off is right around the corner. WNBA Toronto and Portland are coming in 2026. Invest in women and see what happens.