Carleton and Collier lead Minnesota to Commissioner’s Cup title with 94-89 win over New York Liberty

NEW YORK — Bridget Carleton scored 23 points and Napheesa Collier added 21 to help the Minnesota Lynx win their first Commissioner’s Cup championship with a 94-89 victory over the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.

The Lynx became the fourth different team to win the Cup in the event’s four-year history and continued the host team’s losing trend. New York was trying to be the first to repeat as champions after winning in Las Vegas last season.

The game was tied at 60 at the end of the third quarter when Carleton and Cecilia Zandalasini hit consecutive 3-pointers to start a 10-0 run that spanned the periods.

Breanna Stewart scored nine straight points to put Liberty up 70-69, but they were never able to regain the lead. Courtney Williams and Carleton scored the next five points for Minnesota and New York never threatened again.

Collier, who also had six rebounds and three assists, won the game’s MVP award.

Stewart scored 24 points and Sabrina Ionescu added 23. Jonquel Jones, who has been fantastic for the Liberty all season, struggled on Tuesday night. She missed all three of her field goal attempts and didn’t score until making two free throws with 1:20 remaining.

The game was moved from the Barclays Center, the Liberty’s usual home, to the UBS Arena – about 20 miles away – because the NBA draft was being held there on Wednesday night and there was not enough time to move the arena. after the game.

Even though it wasn’t their normal home ground, the Liberty faithful showed up and made some noise trying to lead their team to victory.

New York built a 47-37 lead midway through the second quarter before the Lynx scored eight straight points to get within two. Liberty led 50-47 at halftime, with Ionescu scoring 18 points and Kayla Thornton 14.

The Liberty welcomed back Courtney Vandersloot, who hadn’t played since June 4 to be with her mother, who passed away two weekends ago. She checked in for the first time with 3:30 left in the first quarter and finished with four points.

New York also saw the return of Betnijah-Laney Hamilton, who was sidelined with right knee soreness last week. She returned to the starting lineup, finishing with 13 points.

FINANCIAL INCENTIVE

The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup teams will share a prize pool of $500,000. Minnesota players can earn up to $30,000, while each New York player earns $10,000. Each player competing will also receive $5,000 in cryptocurrency.

There was also a charitable component, with New York raising $15,000 for Women Creating Change and Minnesota winning $13,500 for Gender Justice. The Lynx earned an additional $10,000 for their charity by winning and the Liberty received $5,000 for finishing second.

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