At halftime on Sunday, Sandy Brondello looked at Nyara Sabally to say, “be ready for the big lineup.”

The third-year center, who had played just 15 total minutes in the Liberty’s semifinal against the Aces, was what Breanna Stewart called “the X-factor.”

And Sabally helped capture the franchise’s first title in the Liberty’s 67-62 Game 5 overtime victory over the Lynx.

Sabally had played just 15 minutes in a playoff game in her career and logged at most 17 minutes in the playoffs with 13 points off the bench.

“It’s really just the mental preparation of staying ready and being locked in,” Sabally said after becoming champion. “Knowing whatever minutes you get, that’s what you get, and you have to be ready to hit the floor. Our team has such a high standard and to deliver on that you have to be mentally ready. Otherwise you will only hurt the team in the long run.

“But with great teammates, it’s kind of easy to just get on the floor and leave it all out there because my role is pretty simple: run the floor, get rebounds and maybe shoot some buckets.”

She entered the second half trailing the Liberty by seven, alongside Stewart and eventual WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones. It was a new strategy, based on the length for the rest of the game.

The three had played a total of less than 10 minutes together on the court during the Liberty season, but by the end of the night they had accounted for 43 of the team’s points.

Sabally had back-to-back layups thanks to assists from Sabrina Ionescu, who recorded just five points in the championship game. The buckets gave the Liberty their first lead of the night, 40-38, with three minutes left in the third quarter.

She went on to score nine of her points in the quarter, including going 3-for-4 at the foul line.

“Listen, we were tired. We were trying to do what we could and we needed a spark and that was her,” Stewart said of Sabally. “So she continued to trust the process and we are so proud of you.”

After Leonie Fiebich knocked down the three-point shot in overtime, Sabally followed with a big steal and a layup on a bad pass from the Lynx’s Kayla McBride for a 65-60 Liberty lead.

Sabally, 24, has dealt with a number of injuries in her early career.

The Liberty took her out of Oregon with the No. 5 pick in the 2022 draft, even though they knew she was dealing with a right knee injury and would sit out a season.

“It was the biggest match of her career and she really rose to the occasion,” Brondello said. “For a young player that says a lot about her. The future is bright, quite bright.”