New York (dpa) – The national basketball players Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally equalized with the New York Liberty in the WNBA finals. After the bitter defeat at the start of the series against the Minnesota Lynx, the Liberty won 80:66 in the second duel. Although Fiebich only hit one of her three throw attempts, she made a preliminary decision with a converted three-pointer 90 seconds before the end when she increased the lead back to nine points. There were also five rebounds and three assists.
Breanna Stewart contributed most to the victory with 21 points. In the first game, her mistake enabled the Lynx to secure a comeback victory. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored a strong 20 points. Sabally got within one point after a free throw. In the first game of the series, the Liberty led by 15 points with five minutes left in regulation time and lost after overtime.
Attendance record for New York Liberty home game
In front of a record crowd of 18,040 spectators at a Liberty game at the Barclays Center in New York, fans once again saw their team get off to a strong start, with the hosts leading 31:21 after the first quarter. In the second quarter both teams only scored 18 points, in the third quarter there were only 12 for the Liberty and 14 for the Lynx.
The ten-point lead at halftime became smaller and smaller. In the final quarter it was only two points and the Liberty once again threatened to give up a game that had already been believed to be safe. But then the hosts improved their defensive work, and Fiebich’s three-pointer seemed like the preliminary decision.
Third game in Minneapolis
The third game of the final series is on the German night of Thursday in Minneapolis; three wins are enough to win the title for the last time this year. Starting next season, the final series will be played in best-of-seven mode, like in the NBA.
The Liberty, who also made it to the final last year and lost to the Las Vegas Aces, are still waiting for their first championship. They finished the main round as the best team ahead of the Lynx, who could become the WNBA’s sole record winner with their fifth title.
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