Victory over Liberty shows Lynx are the class of the WNBA

It didn’t matter that New York entered Wednesday’s WNBA title rematch down a couple of players. When Marine Johannes buried a three-pointer midway through the first quarter, the Liberty led 19-11.

After all the hype surrounding the game, including the narrative that the Lynx should avenge their loss in last year’s finals, the champs were playing like the champs. And the Lynx, with the best record the WNBA, weren’t defending well and missing open shots. Then the switch was flipped.

Bridget Carleton scored off a rebound. Jessica Shepard chipped in with three baskets. Kayla McBride buried a three and Natisha Hiedeman’s rebound basket pulled the Lynx into a 24-24 tie by the end of the quarter.

The next tester came in the fourth quarter, when their 15-point lead with four minutes remaining evaporated to four. Napheesa Collier cut to the basket for a bucket and a foul, leading to a made free throw. The Lynx calmly made five throws down the stretch.

It ended Lynx 100, Liberty 93 in The Rematch. No trophy. No confetti. But a win over the defending champs.

“It felt like a finals game,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of the announced crowd of 10,824. “It was reminiscent, obviously, of being here Game 3 and Game 4. And the fans were excited to see this matchup.”

At 23-5 the Lynx are the class of the league. They entered Wednesday as the league’s second highest scoring team, up from sixth a year ago, and the leader in average points allowed. But the best example how they have grown since that poorly officiated Game 5 loss to the Liberty is how they managed Wednesday’s game after falling behind early and having to play with poise late.

Even when New York gets healthy and the free agent they beat the Lynx out for, forward Emma Meesseman, joins them, they will have to contend with a quintet on the floor that gets more cohesive by the minute.

When Reeve replied that Meesseman, “picked the wrong team,” when asked for her reaction to Meesseman choosing New York, the emphasis was on the word team.

“We are more experienced in being together, right?” Reeve said, “and more experienced of being in the space of being in the finals and being a contender and being, you know, in position to win a championship. And so when you come into the season, that’s that felt different, right? So I think our lived experiences together, has made us more mature overall.”

The first day of camp, assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson and Lindsay Whalen -both with experience in winning championships and losing big games - spoke to them about moving on. And the Lynx moved on to the league’s best record, and one loss at home.

So beyond the stats, Napheesa Collier having an MVP season and three players landing in the All-Star Game, Reeve has seen her team continue on a development path.

Before the finals rematch, the Lynx have to reach the postseason. Before that, they have to get through the regular season. Wednesday’s game was the first of four meetings between the Lynx and Liberty over the final 13 games of the regular season. That includes three consecutive meetings in August.

The league schedule makers are out of their minds, but there will be plenty of intrigue.

Wednesday’s game had plenty of that, too, as the Lynx sputtered early before taking control of the game. Courtney Williams was 0-of-7 from the field in the first half but had eight assists. She promptly missed her first two shots of the third before sinking a three and receiving a standing ovation near the 6 minute mark of the third.

It was hard to take her out of the lineup because of her distribution. She finished with six points on 1-of-13 shooting but tied a career high with 13 assists. And one turnover.

Kayla McBride had eight points at halftime but finished with 24. Collier scored 30.