Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve Says WNBA Title Was ‘Stolen’ by Poor Officiating

In the immediate aftermath of her team’s Game 5 loss in the WNBA Finals, Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was not in the mood to pull punches. 

The Lynx lost 67-62 in overtime to the New York Liberty in the winner-take-all game on Sunday, October 20. While the Liberty celebrated their first-ever WNBA title, Reeve, 58, took aim at the officials. 

“I know all the headlines will be ‘Reeve Cries Foul.’ Bring it on. Right? Bring it on,” Reeve said in her postgame press conference. “Because this s— was stolen from us. Bring it on.”

Reeve continued, “You shouldn’t have to overcome to that extent. This s— ain’t that hard. Officiating is not that hard.”

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In particular, Reeve was upset with a call in the waning seconds of regulation when Lynx center Alanna Smith was whistled for a foul on Liberty star Breanna Stewart. The Lynx challenged the call, which came with 5.2 seconds remaining, but were unsuccessful. 

Stewart made both free throw attempts, effectively sending the game to overtime. 

“I thought today was incredibly disappointing,” Reeve said. “We have got to change our challenge rules. The officials doing the game should have a third-party because that was not a foul. That call should have been reversed on that challenge.”

Reeve added, “If we would have turned that clip in [to the league], they would have told us it was marginal contact. No foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed. So when you review, those should be the same parameters that you’re reviewing with.”

“That decided the game,” Reeve lamented. “That decided the game.”

Reeve also disagreed with the treatment of Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who Reeve argued was roughed up by a “physical and aggressive New York team” without any fouls being called.

“When someone is being held, be consistent,” Reeve said. “If you don’t want to call holding at one end, then don’t call it at the other. Be consistent. Every team asks for that. [Liberty head coach] Sandy [Brondello] asked for that. Three of the games in this series, we’re talking about the same damn thing.”

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Reeve suggested her team’s cool and calm demeanor ultimately worked against them when it mattered most. 

“We don’t have a team that whines and complains and all that stuff,” Reeve posited. “You know, sometimes it probably hurts us.”

All told, Reeve called the loss “hard to swallow.”

“This sucks. This is for a championship,” she said. “For both teams. Let them decide it. What contact is legal should be the same for both teams. This isn’t that hard.”