Liberty look to close out series against Lynx and clinch franchise’s first WNBA championship

By The Associated Press

Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) drives past New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich (13) during the second half in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The New York Liberty are one victory away from securing the franchise’s first WNBA championship.

They’ll have their first chance Friday night when they face the Minnesota Lynx in Game 4 of the Finals.

One of the original franchises when the league began play in 1997, New York has reached the championship round five times before this season and lost each one, including last year.

The Liberty leads the best-of-five series 2-1. If Minnesota does win Friday, Game 5 will be Sunday night in New York. The Lynx are looking for history of their own. Two more wins would make them the first team with five WNBA championships, breaking a tie with Seattle and Houston.

Four teams have been able to rally from 2-1 deficits to win a championship — the last being Minnesota in 2017.

New York got the lead in the series on a spectacular 28-foot shot by Sabrina Ionescu with a second left.

The Lynx should have forward Alanna Smith in their starting lineup for the elimination game Friday night. She injured her lower back in Game 3 and took part in the morning shootaround. She said she was going to play through the pain.

Minnesota had a record Lynx crowd of 19,521 at Game 3 and expect another big audience Friday night. There was also a huge television audience with 1.4 million people tuning in for the last game. That made it the most viewed Finals game in more than 20 years and the highest one ever on a cable network.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball