MINNEAPOLIS — The Liberty have waited more than a quarter century for their first title.
They will have to wait at least two more days.
Bridget Carleton, fouled on an offensive rebound by Sabrina Ionescu, made two free throws with two seconds left and Ionescu could not make magic happen two games in a row, giving the Lynx a pulsating 82-80 win in Game 4 to send the WNBA Finals back to Barclays Center for a winner-take-all Game 5 on Sunday night.
“It was trying to get a little screen to JJ [Jonquel Jones] to the block,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said of the final play. “If not, Sabrina had to come out with two seconds. We were trying to establish the big girl down low. They defended it well.”
Down 80-75, Ionescu made a layup and Jones converted a three-point play to tie it at 80-80 with 1:10 left to play.
After Minnesota’s Kayla McBride missed, Jones missed a floater and Breanna Stewart missed a follow as the shot clock expired.
The Liberty — a charter member of the WNBA in 1996 — entered the fourth quarter down 64-63 with Stewart holding four fouls and just eight points, and Ionescu with just six points after going scoreless in the third quarter.
After the Lynx took a five-point lead to open the quarter, Stewart answered with a reverse layup and drew a foul, completing a three-point play to make it 68-66 with eight minutes to go.
Ionescu tied it back up, 70-70, with a layup over Courtney Williams and after Jones blocked Cecilia Zandalasin’s shot under the rim, Ionescu found Leonie Fiebich for an easy layup to lead 72-70 with six minutes left.
Missed attempts followed by Ionescu and Stewart.
After a 3-point miss from Stewart, the Lynx found Alanna Smith unguarded for an easy basket and McBride followed with a 3-pointer to give the Lynx an 85-75 lead.
Ionescu finished with just 10 points and Stewart a mere 11.
The Liberty were carried by Jones (21) and Fiebich (19), and still managed to keep the Lynx from building any more than a six-point lead.
“We did that all season long. If Sab and Stewie are not shooting the ball well, we find other options,” Fiebich said after the loss. “We have other people to step up. Unfortunately, today was not enough.”
The game saw 14 lead changes, a stark difference from the previous three games that saw big double-digits leads with one team dominating the other.
It was difficult for either team to find separation.
There were crashes inside the paint and on the boards, and any time Stewart touched the ball, she was quickly crowded by the Lynx after the two-time MVP scored 30 points in Game 3.
“I think that I was going a little bit too fast. Just needed to slow down,” Stewart said. “They’re sending multiple people when I’m setting up for a screen. Just a little bit better awareness on my part. But quick turnaround and be ready for Sunday.”
The opening quarter saw six lead changes and Stewart went scoreless for the entire 10 minutes, shooting 0-for-7. She made her first bucket three minutes into the second quarter.
The Liberty will be tasked to close out for their first WNBA title in front of their home crowd, where they went 16-4 during the regular season, tying for top honors in the league.
The quick turnaround and the emphasis on having a short-term memory was the immediate message inside the Liberty locker room, according to Ionescu.
“Can’t hang our hats on this, knowing we just gotta be better,” Ionescu said. “There were times we could put the game away and we didn’t. They chipped away. Close-out games are tough. Teams are going to be giving it their best shot to not end their season and now we gotta go back to New York and take care of business.”
