WNBA Coach Says Championship Title Was 'Stolen'

The New York Liberty came out on top in last night’s WNBA Finals over the Minnesota Lynx, wrapping up the game in overtime after tying it in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Cheryl Reeve, the head coach for the opposing Minnesota Lynx, isn’t exactly pleased with how the game played out. 

In the last 5.2 seconds of the fourth quarter, referees called a foul against Lynx forward Alanna Smith after making contact with Liberty player Breanna Stewart. With two free throws, Stewart tied the game, and the Liberty took the lead in overtime to win 67–62. 

After the game, Reeve expressed her discontent with the consequential last-second foul call. “I know all the headlines will be ‘Reeve cries foul.’ Bring it on. Bring it on, because this s–t was stolen from us,” she told reporters, per NBC News. Her issue, she explained, was that she believed Smith barely touched Stewart. 

“It’s a shame that officiating had such a hand in a series like this,” Reeve lamented after the game, according to USA Today, noting that her challenging the call did no good. “I thought today was incredibly disappointing. The challenge—we have got to change our challenge rules. The officials during the game should have a third party, because that was not a foul.”

“That call should have been reversed on that challenge,” she added. “If we would have turned that clip in [to the league], they would have told us that this was marginal contact, no foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed.”

Cheryl Reeve: "I know all the headlines will be 'Reeve cries foul.' Bring it on. Because this s**t was stolen from us… Congrats to the Liberty on their 1st championship. It took them 28 years, congrats to them. We were that close to our 5th.”pic.twitter.com/GwetkTl4We

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 21, 2024

In response to Reeve’s comments, Liberty head coach Sheryl Brondello chuckled that the officiating was “pretty fair” in her eyes. She also acknowledged that sometimes being upset by referee calls is the name of the game. “That’s what you gotta give, give and take,” Brondello said. “Like game number 1, we should have won that game.”

It’s been a landmark year for the league as viewership numbers reached record highs and games across the country sold out. Sunday’s win marked the first-ever WNBA title for the New York Liberty. Looking forward to the future, Brondello hopes her team is just getting started. 

“I think it’s been fun. Hey, let’s not stop at one, though. Let’s go for two,” she said, per The Associated Press. “It’s hard to win because this league is so good. You need a little bit of luck on your side, but you also need talent. You also need talent, the right talent to put together.”

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