Women’s basketball went to the next level this year thanks to Caitlin Clark who led the Iowa Hawkeyes to back-to-back championship games, set the NCAA record for points scored and then proceeded to turn the Indiana Fever into a playoff team in her rookie year. The WNBA was buoyed by both Clark and media magnet Angel Reese’s arrival, A’Ja Wilson’s continued brilliance in winning the MVP award and the New York Liberty “super team” winning 32 games and the first seed in the playoffs.
Regardless of sport or gender, attention is garnered by individuals, but teams win championships. In last night’s deciding game against the Minnesota Lynx, the Liberty’s two biggest stars shot a combined 5 for 34 yet they were still able to pull off the 67-62 OT victory in front of 18,090 fans at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Liberty were led by Finals MVP Jonquel Jones and major contributions from young forward Nyara Sabally and their own rookie Leonie Fiebich. Plus, despite their poor shooting, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu combined for 22 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks.
It took 28 years for the WNBA to become an overnight sensation, so it’s fitting that one of their original teams finishes the year with their franchise’s first ever championship.
