The Minnesota Lynx came agonizingly close to winning their fifth WNBA title, as they fell in overtime to on Sunday night in a winner-takes-all Game 5 in New York. The Lynx were up early, taking a 19-10 lead after the first quarter, but found themselves down three as the fourth quarter began, but clawed their way back in front to lead by two with five seconds to play. At that point, , as Breanna Stewart caught the inbound pass and drew a foul on Alanna Smith that appeared to be very marginal contact with the body and clean contact up top on the hand and ball.
Upon review, the call stood with the officials stating Smith was “not in legal guarding position” and Stewart hit two free throws to tie the game. The Lynx did get a clean shot at the win, but a Kayla McBride three didn’t fall and in overtime they went 0-for-6 from the field, . After the game, much of the discussion on the Lynx side was about the officiating, as one would expect in game with a massive free throw discrepancy (25 for New York, 8 for Minnesota) and a controversial foul call in the closing seconds.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve did not hold back in her postgame presser, calling for the WNBA to bring in a third party for reviews (like the NBA has with the replay center) because the officials on the floor don’t want to admit mistakes, and insisting that call should’ve been overturned and that the WNBA would agree it was marginal contact if they had sent it in to the league office. Cheryl Reeve is livid.