Controversial call in WNBA Finals decider still irks Minnesota Lynx

CNN —

The Minnesota Lynx lamented Tuesday about losing to the New York Liberty in a winner-take-all Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday following a controversial foul call at the end of regulation.

“That loss is something I’ll never get over, to have it end that way, where it just feels super unjust,” the four-time All-Star and Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said at Tuesday’s end-of-season media availability.

“I don’t think that is something to get over. It’s different if you feel like you lose a game.”

With Minnesota up 60-58 and less than six seconds remaining in regulation, officials called a foul on Lynx forward Alanna Smith on Liberty forward Breanna Stewart.

The two-time league MVP was driving to the hoop and appeared to have minimal contact with Smith as she attempted a shot.

The Lynx challenged the call, but the decision was upheld after a video review.

Stewart made two free throws that eventually sent the game to overtime, which the Liberty won 67-62 to secure their first title in franchise history on Sunday.

Lynx guard Kayla McBride agreed with her teammate that she wouldn’t be able to get over the defeat.

“The chips fell as they did, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over it,” McBride said. “It’s hard to replay in your mind. … It’s definitely going to sting for a while.”

After Sunday’s game, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said the call “decided the game,” adding that the game – and WNBA championship – was “stolen from us.”

“The officials during the game should have a third party because that was not a foul. That call should have been reversed on that challenge,” she told reporters.

On Tuesday, Reeve took a measured approach after having two days to decompress from Sunday’s emotional contest when asked if she, too, would ever forget the official decision.

“Unfortunately, I have experience in this. I have a lot of feelings about it,” Reeves told reporters. “I think probably today would want to focus on the players and the season because I think something like this is soiling the amazing season that we had.

“We all know. I don’t need to say anything.

Minnesota was seeking its league-record fifth WNBA championship.

Despite the debatable foul call, the game gained a huge audience on screens.

Game 5 was the most-viewed WNBA Finals contest in 25 years, peaking with an average of 3.3 million viewers, a 142% increase from last year’s Las Vegas Aces and Liberty deciding Game 4, ESPN said.

As for the 2024 WNBA champion Liberty, who won the best-of-five series, three games to two, New York is set to celebrate with a ticker tape parade Thursday morning.

Organizers said the procession will begin at Battery Park and run north through lower Broadway’s so-called “Canyon of Heroes.”

Following the parade, City Hall will host a ceremony before the team hosts a fan event at Barclays Center that night.