NEW YORK – Cheryl Reeve, coach of the Minnesota Lynx didn’t hold back during her postgame press conference following Game 5 of Sunday’s WNBA Finals, a 67-62 overtime victory for New York which brought Liberty its first title in franchise history.
“I know the headlines will be, ‘Reeve cries foul,'” Reeve said. “Bring it. Bring it – because this (expletive) was stolen from us.”
Reeve was furious with the free throw margin in Game 5. New York was whistled for 17 fouls and the Lynx were warned for 21, but the Liberty shot 25 free throws while Minnesota had just eight attempts.
At the end of regulation, Minnesota led 60-58 with 6.3 seconds left. New York handed the ball to Breanna Stewart, who launched a fumbled shot that looked deflected — but then a whistle blew and Alanna Smith was called for a foul. Reeve and his team were furious and challenged the call. But the challenge failed and Stewart advanced toward the finish line. She emptied both, eventually forcing overtime.
“It’s a shame that the referees played such a role in a series like this,” Reeve said. “I thought today was incredibly disappointing. The challenge – we need to change our challenge rules. The officials during the match should have a third party, because it was not a foul.
“That decision should have been overturned on that challenge…if we had given that clip (to the league), they would have told us it was marginal contact, no foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed.”
Officiating was a hot topic for most of the series, with Reeve and New York coach Sandy Brondello complaining about the lack of calls. After Reeve complained after Game 3, Minnesota shot 20 free throws in Game 4 while New York shot nine.
Then it was Brondello’s turn to complain after the fourth game.
“I know Cheryl talked about it last time, but we didn’t get any calls today, so should I bring it up at a press conference?” » said Brondello. “Because they were getting ticks. And we went out there and we got hit and we didn’t get anything… All we want is just, okay? So if we get hit, it’s a foul. I’m one of the nicest fucking coaches in this league, but this pisses me off.
Reeve said Sunday: “Officer, it’s not that hard…Three of the games in this series, we’re talking about the same damn thing.
Reeve had been particularly annoyed by the lack of calls for Minnesota star forward Napheesa Collier.
During the five-game series, Collier only shot 14 free throws total, and none in Game 5. Stewart, New York’s star forward, shot 31.
Collier finished with 22 points Sunday, shooting 11 of 23 from the field. When asked why she struggled to score in the second half, Collier also pointed to the referees.
“Probably because I was a little held back,” she said. “It was a little difficult to make shots.”
Brondello burst out laughing when asked about Reeve’s comments that the title was “stolen” and said: “I thought (the officials) were fair. »
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Cheryl Reeve Rips Civil Servants: ‘This (expletive) Was Stolen From Us’
