Ionescu's 3-pointer with 1 second left gives Liberty 80-77 win over Lynx and 2-1 lead in WNBA Finals

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu watched Breanna Stewart carry the New York Liberty all game, until it was time to win it.

Then the ball was hers.

“In the timeout, (coach) Sandy (Brondello) was like, ‘You’re going to shoot the shot,'" Ionescu said.

The star guard made it, a 3-pointer from 28 feet with a second remaining that gave the Liberty an 80-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday night and moved them a win away from an elusive first WNBA title.

New York leads the finals 2-1 — the first time it has ever been ahead in the championship round — and can win the series Friday night in Minnesota.

“We know we’re one game away from winning the championship, and I think that they are going to give us their best shot,” said Stewart, who won two titles with Seattle. “They are going to give everything they have got, and you know what, so are we. The turnaround is quick but we are going to continue to be ready.

Ionescu said she had to watch replay of her shot after the game to see exactly what happened.

“I didn’t even really remember it. I had to go look at the video really quickly to see like how far I was," she said. "I feel like I was able to get a little separation in range and get a really good shot to go.”

With the game tied at 77, Ionescu had the ball and dribbled around before pulling up a few steps behind the arc and hitting from 28 feet to break the tie.

“It’s pretty special. It was never in doubt. Obviously Stewie got us back in there, willed us in there, but I thought the right time, this is Sabrina,” Brondello said. “She just made a big shot. She’s a great shooter and she just needed a little bit of separation."

Stewart scored 22 of the team’s 45 points in the second half and finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

“We don’t win this game without Stewie,” Ionescu said. “There’s nothing I can say. That shot’s nice, but what she was able to do for us tonight willed us back into the game.”

Minnesota didn’t get a real shot to tie at the buzzer.

“Great player made a good shot,” Minnesota guard Kayla McBride said. “I guarded her for 40 minutes.””

The Liberty erased a 15-point deficit to move one victory from winning their first title.

“There’s a lot of things that we didn’t do right tonight and have a kind of quick memory," Stewart said. "I think that we’re happy we got this win but the job’s not done.”

The Liberty have appeared in the finals five times before, including last season, and lost each one.

Trailing 73-69 with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter, the Liberty scored eight straight points, including the first five by Jonquel Jones. Ionescu, who had a relatively quiet game, then hit another 3-pointer after a Lynx miss to make it 77-73 with 55.5 left.

Bridget Carleton got the Lynx within 77-75 with a layup 21 seconds later. On New York's next possession, Ionescu had a 3-pointer go halfway through the basket before popping out and Minnesota got the rebound.

Napheesa Collier was then fouled with 16 seconds left and hit both free throws to tie it setting up the exciting finish.

Collier finished with 22 points and McBride 19 for Minnesota.

“Our defense gave us a chance to win the game, period, and our offense is going to help our defense,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “If you told me that we would have got the amount of stops that we did and we were playing off that, and we wouldn’t have scored 80, that would be surprising to me.”

The Lynx flipped the script of the first two games, building a double-digit lead in the first half. Minnesota, which only led for just over three minutes in the first two contests, was up 60-50 with 2:28 left in the third quarter before the Liberty closed to 62-61 by the end of the period. Stewart scored the final five points, including a three-point play with 19 seconds left.

She then scored the first eight points for New York in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 69 with another three-point play with 6:18 left.

Carleton hit two free throws to break the tie 12 seconds later. Neither team would score again until Courtney Williams hit a baseline pullup with 2:26 left to give the Lynx a four-point advantage.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) reacts after making a three-point basket during the second half against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) makes a 3-point basket during the second half against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. The Liberty won 80-77. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve watches from the bench during the second half against the New York Liberty in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams reacts after making a 3-point basket during the second half against the New York Liberty in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) drives to the basket during the second half against the New York Liberty in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot (22) drives to the basket past Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman during the first half in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu reacts after missing a shot during the first half against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello reacts to a call during the first half against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) shoots over Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, right, during the first half in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton, left, is fouled by New York Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) during the first half in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

NEW YORK (AP) — Billie Jean King started the Women’s Sports Foundation with a $5,000 check.

She’s turned that investment into $100 million and a half century of helping girls and women achieve their dreams through travel and training grants, local sports programs and mentoring athletes and coaches.

King celebrated the 50th anniversary of the foundation by honoring the 1999 U.S. women’s World Cup champions, PWHL and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter and the 2024 WNBA rookie class on Wednesday night in New York.

“What makes me happy is creating opportunities and dreams for others,” King told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “I look back and that’s what drives me.”

Nearly 100 female athletes attended the awards dinner to celebrate the milestone and King, a tireless advocate for equal pay and more investment in women’s sports.

That includes awards host and soccer honoree Julie Foudy. She graduated from Stanford and played for the 1999 U.S. soccer team that won the World Cup before a record crowd of more than 90,000 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

“She’s remained a friend and mentor and such a catalyst for changing the trajectory of women’s soccer and so many sports,” said Foudy, a former president of the Women’s Sports Foundation and current soccer broadcaster for Turner and TNT.

After the World Cup win, Foudy and the team turned to King, Donna Lopiano and Donna de Verona for advice about improving pay and starting a professional soccer league.

“I’ll never forget, (King) said ‘What are you guys doing about it?’” said Foudy, regarding their collective leverage with the U.S. Soccer Federation. “And as players, that was the exact epiphany we needed at that moment.”

Foudy and the ’99ers eventually witnessed the successful struggle toward equity, helping lay the foundation for the current U.S. women’s national team to receive the same pay and working conditions as the men’s team. A players’ lawsuit against the federation resulted in a landmark $24 million settlement in 2022.

“Billie doesn’t have just one meeting. She’d check in and follow up and ask ‘What do you need?’” Foudy said. “She was at that first (WUSA professional) game in Washington D.C. (in 2001) and was a big proponent of the importance of having a league and player pool for the longevity and growth of women’s soccer.”

The current iteration is the NWSL, which started in 2013 and now has 14 teams. Foudy is part of the ownership group of Angel City FC. New owners Bob Iger and Willow Bay acquired a controlling stake in the team in July, with a value of $250 million.

King recently joined forces with Mark and Kimba Walter to create the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), which will launch its second season in late November. U.S. Olympic gold medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield reached out to King to help unify the fractured pro hockey landscape into one viable league. King, who is part of the Dodgers' ownership group, collaborated with Walter to form the new six-team league.

The WNBA rookie class, led by No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark, received the Next Gen Award for “showing up, showing out and boldly carrying the torch forward.” The popularity of Indiana’s Clark and Chicago’s Angel Reese generated unprecedented WNBA attendance, more nationally televised games and record-breaking TV ratings this summer.

“Caitlin Clark is fantastic,” King said. “It reminds me of Chris Evert in 1971, when she changed everything at the U.S Open. Anytime a player can do well, she helps everybody.”

The rookie class includes Cameron Brink (Stanford), Kamilla Cardoso (NCAA champion South Carolina), Rickea Jackson (Tennessee), Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State), Aaliyah Edwards (UConn), Reese (LSU) and Alissa Pili (Utah).

The WNBA lags in pay equity, with Clark receiving only $76,000 in her rookie season compared to the NBA No. 1 pick, who gets $12 million. WNBA players may see an increase in salary in 2026 from a new 11-year media rights deal for approximately $200 million a year ahead of the next collective bargaining agreement. The players’ union is interested in increasing the WNBA revenue share from 9.3%. NBA players receive about 50% of the money generated from TV deals, ticket sales, merchandise and licensing.

King says it may take more time to close the pay gaps because women’s sports is "still in its infancy.”

“The NBA is 78 years old, the WNBA is 28 years old,” King said. “(Former NBA Commissioner) David Stern made a huge difference, he was a marketing genius. We need to continue to do that for women’s sports.”

King and the ‘Original Nine’ helped market the early women's professional tennis circuit, and she formed the WTA with players a week before Wimbledon in 1973. She advocated for Title IX, beat Bobby Riggs and fought for equal prize money in tennis. In between, she won 39 Grand Slam titles during her career.

The next milestone for the 80-year-old King will be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal. It's one of the highest U.S. civilian honors for individuals whose achievements have a lasting impact on their field.

“The Women’s Sports Foundation, nobody knew how long it would last,” she said. “I look at the 50th anniversary as a continuation to create more opportunities. You can’t let up.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Ilana Kloss poses for photos on the red carpet at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Briana Scurry poses for photos on the red carpet at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Mary Carillo poses for photos on the red carpet at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Lisa Bluder poses for photos on the red carpet at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Cheryl Miller, left, and Ann Myers Drysdale, right, pose for photos on the red carpet at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Julie Foudy poses for photos on the red carpet at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Billie Jean King, left, and Ilana Kloss, right, pose for photos on the red carpet at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

FILE - Julie Foudy poses at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports, Oct. 12, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

FILE - Mark Walter speaks during a news conference in Los Angeles on Sept. 21, 2018. AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, File)

Tennis great Billie Jean King smiles as she is introduced as grand marshal of the 136th Rose Parade next year on the front steps of the Tournament House in Pasadena, Calif., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Tennis great Billie Jean King speaks after being introduced as grand marshal of the 136th Rose Parade next year on the front steps of the Tournament House in Pasadena, Calif., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)