Sabrina Ionescu plays the hero as the New York Liberty shock the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals

CNN
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Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty are one win away from clinching the franchise's first WNBA title after a shocking 80-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the Finals on Wednesday, going 2-1 in the lead.

With the score at 77 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Ionescu, Liberty's star striker, hit the game-winning three-pointer from near the logo just under two seconds before the end of the game.

However, things didn't go completely smoothly for the Liberty until the game-winning play. They trailed at halftime behind Lynx guard Kayla McBride, who finished the first half with 13 points.

The Liberty found some fight and fought back behind Breanna Stewart in the second half.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Liberty tied the game at 66 after Stewart knocked down a three-pointer. Both teams continued to trade points until Liberty forward Jonquel Jones gave her team the lead with a layup and Ionescu hit a three-pointer with just under a minute left to make the game 77-73.

But it wasn't over yet as Lynx star Napheesa Collier made both free throws to tie the game 77-77 with 16 seconds left.

Ionescu, who struggled most of the game, received the inbounds pass and played hero for the Liberty to complete the 15-point comeback, the third-largest comeback in WNBA Finals history.

Stewart finished the game with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, while Ionescu added 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. She joked after the game that she couldn't remember the last play.

“I had to watch the video very quickly to see how far I had come,” Ionescu told reporters, adding: “Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn’t. I've practiced that shot a thousand times in my head, on the court, and I feel like as an athlete you just put yourself in a position where you want to throw a shot.”

Ionescu later called it the “biggest shot of my career and hopefully not the last.”

Game 4 is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. ET in Minneapolis.

Stewart acknowledged the team is just one win away from claiming its historic first title, but said the work is not done yet.

“We know we are just one game away from winning the championship and I think they will do their best,” she said. “They’ll give it everything they’ve got, and guess what, so will we. The turnaround is happening quickly, but we will remain ready.”

Despite the loss, Collier made some WNBA history of his own.

The 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year finished with 22 points, increasing her postseason point total to 249. She passes Diana Taurasi to become the most in a single postseason in WNBA history, originally set in 2009.