Photo: “Napheesa Collier” by John McClellan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
The Minnesota Lynx are the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup Champions, as the team took down the New York Liberty 94-89 for the Victory on Tuesday.
Napheesa Collier was named the MVP of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship game, as she had 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
The leading scorer for the Lynx in the win was Bridget Carleton, who posted 23 points.
Four other Minnesota players who scored in double-digits were Courtney Williams (11),
Kayla McBride (12), Collier (21) and Cecilia Zandalasini(15).
The leading scorer for the Liberty in the game was Breanna Stewart who scored 24 points.
Minnesota had the advantage in multiple categories in the game, which included fast-break points (20-6), turnovers (11-20), blocks (4-2), steals (12-6), and assists (26-24).
The Lynx also had the advantage of shooting as well, as the team shot 47.8(33-69) and New York shot 44.9(31-69). Minnesota also bested the Liberty from the three-point line, with the team shooting 48.3(14-29) and New York shooting 41.4 (12-29). Minnesota also bested the Liberty from the free throw line, with the team shooting 100.0(14-14) and New York shooting 83.3 (15-18).
Related:
Game Recap:
Minnesota trails by four at the end of the first quarter.
The Commissioner’s Cup Championship started with Minnesota flying off to a 7-2 lead with 7:24 remaining in the opening quarter.
Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams, and Bridget Carleton scored all seven points during that time. Williams and Carleton also had an assist during this run.
Starting at the 6:37 minute mark, the Liberty would punch back by outscoring the Lynx 14-4 to take a 16-11 edge with 3:34 left in the first.
Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton would each drain a three-pointer during that time. Kayla Thornton also impacted this run, scoring five points and an assist.
New York would score 11 more points in the opening quarter to take a 27-24 advantage into the second.
The Lynx trails by three points at the end of the first half.
Cecilia Zandalasini was on fire during the early minutes of the second quarter by first helping Minnesota regain the lead (28-27) by scoring five straight points at the 9:03 minute mark and then tying the game at 30 with two free throw shots almost a minute later.
Starting at the 7:12 minute mark, New York would dash off on a 10-2 run to take a 40-32 edge with 5:43 left in the first half.
Sabrina Ionescu powered the offense during this time, scoring seven of the team’s 10 points.
At the 4:59 minute mark, the Lynx would start to fight back, as the team would outscore the Liberty 15-8 to pull the deficit to one point (48-47) with 30 seconds remaining in the first half.
Napheesa Collier and Bridget Carleton caused problems for New York’s defense during this time, scoring 13 of the team’s 15 points.
New York would not lose the lead, as Courtney Vandersloot would get a layup to go in to give her team a 50-47 advantage heading into halftime.
Minnesota leads by six points at the end of the third quarter.
Minnesota would come out firing in the early minutes of the second half, as the team went on a 6-2 run to grab a 53-52 edge with 7:45 remaining in the third.
Courtney Williams and Bridget Carleton scored all six points during that time.
In the next four minutes and 18 seconds, the game’s intensity went up another level, as the lead bounced back and forth and no advantage was bigger than two points.
In the later minutes of the third quarter, the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, Cecilia Zandalasini, and Bridget Carleton would each drain a three-pointer to push their team on a 9-3 run to take a 66-60 edge into the fourth.
Minnesota takes home the Commissioner’s Cup with a 94-89 victory!
Fast forward to the 9:01 minute mark, where Cecilia Zandalasini would make a six-foot shot to give her the Lynx a ten-point lead (70-60).
The Liberty would claw back into this game, as Ninety-nine seconds later, the team would go on a 12-5 run to slice the deficit to three points (75-72) with 5:53 remaining in the game.
Breanna Stewart caught fire during this run, scoring nine of the team’s 12 points.
The Lynx would respond by outscoring New York 11-5 to widen their lead to 11 points (88-77) with 1:51 left in the game.
Kayla McBride, Napheesa Collier, and Bridget Carleton each drained a three-pointer during that run, and scored all 11 points.
Minnesota would add five more points to their score in the quarter to seal a 94-89 victory over the Liberty and crowned Commissioner’s Cup champions.
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