The Liberty did not trail during the first 39 minutes and 55 seconds of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
But that wasn’t enough.
The Liberty suffered an all-time-brutal 95-93 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in overtime Thursday night at Barclays Center, blowing an 18-point lead to fall behind 1-0 in the best-of-five series.
Breanna Stewart missed a would-be game-winning free throw with less than a second remaining in regulation, then failed to finish a would-be game-tying lay-up as time expired in overtime.
A jumper by Napheesa Collier, the WNBA MVP runner-up, with 8.1 seconds left in OT proved to be the game-winner.
It will go down as a missed opportunity of epic proportions for the Liberty, who led, 83-80, in the waning seconds of regulation.
With under 10 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, the Lynx’s Courtney Williams missed a 3-pointer, but Alanna Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and passed the ball back to Williams, who nailed her second attempt while being fouled by Sabrina Ionescu.
Williams sank her free throw, putting the Lynx up, 84-83, with 5.5 seconds remaining.
With a chance to win the game, Stewart got blocked on a lay-up attempt by Collier, the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
But Stewart got a second chance, that time drawing a foul on Collier with 0.8 seconds on the clock. After a replay review, officials confirmed the foul occurred before regulation ended, and Stewart made her first free throw to tie the score, 84-84.
Stewart missed the second free throw, however, sending the game to overtime.
The Liberty went scoreless for the first three minutes and 21 seconds of OT, and they trailed, 93-89, with under a minute remaining. They tied the game, 93-93, after Ionescu made a short jumper and Jonquel Jones turned a steal into a transition lay-up.
But Collier made her game-winner on the next possession, and Stewart failed to finish her lay-up attempt on the other end.
All of that drama occurred after a red-hot start by the Liberty, who led 32-19 after the first quarter.
Fueling that fast start was Jones, who scored 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the opening period.
That was notable, considering the Lynx held Jones in check during their three wins against the Liberty during the regular season. Jones, a former WNBA MVP and five-time All-Star, attempted five, three and seven shot attempts in those losses, averaging 5.3 points.
Curiously, the Liberty failed to feature the 6-6 standout for long stretches after that first quarter, which allowed the Lynx to climb back into the game.
The Lynx cut the halftime deficit to seven and trailed by only two points midway through the third quarter. Jones attempted one shot in the second quarter – a transition lay-up she finished for her third three-point play of the evening – and two in the third quarter.
The Liberty appeared to be pulling away anyway during a torrid stretch in which Stewart, Leonie Fiebich and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton each made 3-pointers between the 7:30 and 5:20 marks in the fourth quarter, putting the Liberty up, 81-66.
But the Lynx ended regulation on an 18-3 run.
An original franchise still pursuing its first WNBA championship, the Liberty are seeking redemption after losing last year’s Finals in four games to the Las Vegas Aces.
The Liberty believe they are better equipped to finish the job this year, with Jones, Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot now in the second season of their star-powered team-up with Ionescu.
The sharp-shooting Ionescu averaged only 9.8 points per game on 31.6% shooting in last year’s Finals, her first trip to the championship round. Before Thursday’s game, Ionescu, 26, recalled feeling like a “deer in headlights” last year but said that experience better prepared her for this year’s Finals.
But Ionescu made just 8-for-26 shot attempts Thursday, finishing with 19 points.
Jones led all players with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Three players – Collier, Williams and Kayla McBridge – scored at least 21 points for the Lynx.
The Liberty will attempt to bounce back in Game 2 on Sunday at Barclays Center.
