October 11, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: WNBA Finals Game 1 reactions
By The Next
Philippou: 'I cannot get over what I just witnessed'
On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, ESPN’s Alexa Philippou joins host Jackie Powell to break down the Minnesota Lynx’s stunning WNBA Finals Game 1 comeback over the New York Liberty. Trailing by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Lynx forced overtime in Brooklyn and ultimately came away with a 95-93 victory.
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Philippou and Powell reacted to the stunning come-from-behind victory and how New York collapsed after building up a comfortable lead.
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“I feel like I still have the post-crazy-game hangover that when you’re involved in sports and cover games like this, it just always hits you,” Philippou said. “And I was up until, I think, almost 4 o’clock because I first of all, was working late, but then even once I got home, it’s just like I cannot get over what I just witnessed, and I still pretty much feel that way, too.”
They also looked ahead to the rest of the series and discussed what it might take for Minnesota to pull off an upset.
“You’re not going to be able to overcome an 18-point deficit every game, especially against a determined New York team,” Philippou said. “I’m really curious to see if [Minnesota’s] able to narrow that gap on the glass because this is a relatively undersized Minnesota team, especially compared to a New York team that has a lot of length and height. So is that an area that New York can exploit moving forward? … [Head coach] Cheryl Reeve, we talked before, was saying that that margin was pretty bad and pretty stark, even though they did get that big offensive rebound at the end of the game. But I’m curious to see if they are able to minimize that gap or, ways that they can try and make sure that doesn’t totally cost them some wins moving forward.”
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