NEW YORK – Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said the 2024 WNBA title was “stolen” from her team because of what she called “incredibly disappointing” in Sunday’s 67-62 overtime loss to the New York Liberty in the deciding Game 5 of the Finals.

Reeve took particular offense with a foul call on Lynx center Alanna Smith with 5.2 seconds left in regulation. After missing a pair of foul shots a few plays earlier, 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart went to the free throw line and made both attempts for New York to tie the score, effectively sending the game into overtime.

“All the headlines will be, ‘Reeve cries foul.’ Come on.” Reeve said. ‘Come on. Because this s… was stolen from us. Bring it on.’

The Lynx disputed the call, but it was upheld. Reeve said after the match that a third party should be involved in assessing challenges.

“When they challenged it on the other end, if we had turned that clip in, they would have told us that was a marginal contact, not a foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed,” Reeve said. “So when you write a review, there should be the same parameters that you review by, but the three people in the game need a fourth party to let them know. Because that’s what decided the game.”

Reeve initially brought up her issues with the referee at the start of the post-game press conference in Minnesota when asked about her offense’s lack of production in the second half.

“I saw a very physical and aggressive New York team,” Reeve said. “We know this because we’ve been part of the games for so long that sometimes you can get away with things like this if you’re physical and aggressive, and they certainly did that. It’s a shame that the referee had such a hand in a series like this. “

The Liberty shot 25 free throws to the Lynx’s 8. There were 21 foul calls in Minnesota and 17 in New York.

“These guys shot 30% (from the floor). They shot 30%,” Reeve said of the Liberty. “The difference was at the foul line.”

Minnesota superstar Napheesa Collier, who finished with 22 points, did not reach the free-throw line in Game 5. Entering Sunday’s game, Collier – who was 11-for-23 from the floor in Game 5 – had never fielded 20 points. goals without a single free throw attempt in her career.

“I was held a little bit. It was a little hard to shoot,” said Collier, who fouled out with 13.0 seconds left.

Reeve elaborated on her concerns.

“It just doesn’t feel right to lose a series with so much discrepancy,” she said. “We don’t have a team that whines and complains and all that stuff. Sometimes it probably hurts us. Maybe a little more, I don’t know, something. But you have a star player like Phee who just… I don’t get it. I don’t understand how she can be held down and go to the basket and get hit and then a marginal, at best, at best sends his best player to the free throw line, I mean it’s hard to swallow.”

Asked to respond to Reeve’s comments, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said of the referees: “I thought they were pretty fair.”

“In the last game, it’s give and take. Game No. 1, we should have won that game,” Brondello said. “I have so much respect for Cheryl, and I have so much respect for that Minnesota Lynx team, because man, that was ugly.

“But we found a way to win. I’m really proud of our team, how resilient we were, how we stuck together and how we continue to trust each other. That was our word today: just trust the process. We found a solution.” way to win.”

Both coaches previously criticized the referee in the series, with Reeve calling out how Collier was managed differently than Stewart after Game 3 and Brondello pointing out the disparity in the foul call after Game 4 when the Liberty shot nine free throws to the Lynx’s 20 .

“It’s not that hard to lead,” Reeve said. “If someone is being held, be consistent. If you don’t want to call it holding on one side, don’t call it holding on the other side. Be consistent. Every team asks for that. Sandy asked for that last play. ” Three of the games in this series we’re talking about the same damn thing.”

Games 1, 3 and 4 were also incredibly close until the end, each decided by two or three points. This Finals series was the first with multiple games requiring overtime, and Sunday marked the first time Finals Game 5 went to OT.

Reflecting on the season, Reeve credited her team for “(doing) things the right way. (We) built the team within the rules… We gave hope to those teams that are unwilling to circumvent the limit or to fly illegally or all the things that have happened in the last five years.”

New York was previously fined $500,000 for illegally chartering flights in the 2021 season. The Las Vegas Aces withdrew their 2025 first-round draft pick for violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits, and the franchise is investigated by the league over sponsorship deals the players entered into with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Reeve – a four-time champion as coach of the Lynx (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017) – said the result was “poor” and compared it to Minnesota’s 2016 final, which she said was “lost in the act,” referring to a missed shot clock violation with 1:12 left in Game 5.

“This is for a championship for both teams,” Reeve said. “Let them decide. What contact is legal should be the same for both teams. This isn’t that difficult. So it’s disappointing. I mean, congratulations to the Liberty on their first championship… It’s taken them 28 years .Congratulations to them. We were so close to our fifth.’