Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty suffer OT loss in Game 1 of WNBA Finals

The New York Liberty is back in the WNBA Finals with former Oregon Duck Sabrina Ionescu leading the charge. Alongside stars Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, the Liberty and Ionescu faced the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 on Thursday night.

Despite holding a 44-36 lead at halftime, the New York offense slowed in the second half and Minnesota was able to bring it within just a few points as time dissipated.

Even with Ionescu's best efforts, the game came down to two free throws for Stewart. She sank the first to tie the game but she missed the second and just like that, the first game of the 2024 Finals was heading into overtime.

In regulation, Ionescu scored just 15 points for the Liberty, trailing behind Jones (24), Stewart (18), and Fiebech (17). However, in overtime, the former Duck showed why she was the No. 1 overall draft pick just a few years ago.

Ionescu put up the first four points that Liberty scored in OT and had a critical steal that led to one of her buckets, denying the Lynx a drive down the court. With just 28.1 seconds remaining, Jones drained a 2-point shot but Minnesota's Napheesa Collier was able to answer, increasing the Lynx's lead back to two points.

New York called a timeout and who else but Ionescu would be in charge of inbounding the ball with just 2.6 seconds remaining?

The Liberty trailed by two, Ionescu got the ball into Stewart's hands, she drove to the buckets, and she... missed. Stewart, the consistent key to the team, missed the layup and Minnesota walked away with the win.

The Lynx earned the Game 1 win with a final score of 95-93. New York and Minnesota will play Game 2 in just three days on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. ET from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

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