Australian forward Alanna Smith has been left in tears of emotional and physical anguish after her Minnesota Lynx lost in overtime of the decisive game five of the WNBA Finals against New York after a dubious foul call in the last seconds.
The Liberty won the game 67-62 after just one period of overtime, handing Australian coach Sandy Brondello her second WNBA championship — she led the Phoenix Mercury, featuring Opals stars Erin Phillips and Penny Taylor, to the 2014 title.
It marked the first championship for the Liberty, one of the WNBA's foundation teams, in their sixth trip to the finals.
Opals coach Sandy Brondello is now a two-time WNBA champion. (Getty Images)
The Lynx shot out of the gates and led by as many as 12 points late in the first half, before the Liberty kicked into gear with a 20-10 third quarter.
Smith finished the game with six points and eight rebounds while playing some typically staunch defence, but she was hampered by a back injury she has been managing throughout the series.
Smith left the court in tears when she got tangled up with Finals MVP Jonquel Jones and was slammed to the hardwood under the basket midway through the fourth quarter.
She gingerly made her way back to the locker room before emerging to finish the game, including defending the final play of regulation as Minnesota held a 60-58 lead heading into the dying seconds thanks to Napheesa Collier's tricky lay-up with 1:04 left.
Smith's defence on two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart saved the Lynx in game four, but this time she was called for a blocking foul as Stewart drove to the basket with five seconds left, after referees missed a blatant travel by Stewart as she caught the inbounds pass.
The foul call was questionable, with Smith appearing to have her feet set before Stewart went up for the shot, leaving NBA legend LeBron James outraged.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve lamented the officiating after the game, saying it should have been overturned on a challenge.
"All the headlines will read 'Reeve cries foul'," she said in her post-game press conference.
"Bring it on. Bring it on, because this shit was stolen from us."
Regardless, Stewart, a two-time champion and player of the finals with Seattle in 2018 and 2020, nailed two nerveless free throws to send a deciding finals game to overtime for the first time in WNBA history.
Things went pear-shaped in the extra time period for the Lynx, with New York rookie Leonie Fiebich knocking down a three-pointer off the opening tip and forcing the Lynx to play catch-up.
But Minnesota could not strike a single blow in the period.
The Lynx missed all six of their field goal attempts and committed six turnovers, one of which was a steal by Nyara Sabally, who ran the length of the court for a lay-up to put New York up 65-60 with three minutes left.
Stewart knocked down two more clutch free throws as the Lynx were forced to intentionally foul in the dying seconds, before the final buzzer rang out on a historic WNBA season.
The arrival of college sensation Caitlin Clark led to unprecedented crowds and television ratings, with the Barclays Center in Brooklyn sold out for game five and a record number of viewers watching from home across the series.