Natisha Hiedeman’s Minnesota Lynx are vying for a championship!
As I type this, Jonquel Jones of the New York Liberty has drained a free throw for an old fashioned three-point play to open up the scoring in the 2024 WNBA Finals. Yes, I forgot to check the Finals schedule after Marquette’s very own Natisha Hiedeman and her Minnesota Lynx defeated the Connecticut Sun in the semifinals, and as such, I forgot to get a Viewing Guide up for you earlier in the day on Thursday.
I feel bad.
But we’ve got a Best-Of-Five series to watch — the last 5 game Finals, as the W just announced next year’s will be a 7 game series — and so we’ll get you that viewing guide here.
Minnesota beat Connecticut in five games, topping the Sun 88-77 in the decisive Game 5 in Minneapolis. The game wasn’t even that competitive, as the Lynx were up as many as 24 late in the third quarter. Napheesa Collier was huge for Minnesota in the clincher, going for a double-double on 27 points and 11 rebounds. She wasn’t the only player with a big night, as Courtney Williams added 24 points and seven assists. We’re here for Natisha Hiedeman, the 2019 Big East Player of the Year, and she played 14 minutes off the bench for the Lynx in Game 5. She was a +7 in that time, scoring seven points and adding three rebounds, two assists, and a steal in her playing time. For the series, Hiedeman averaged 6.6 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. She did this without her trademark three-point shooting showing up, as she went just 2-for-7 from long range against Connecticut.
The Lynx will be facing off against the New York Liberty in the finals. The Liberty knocked off A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals in just four games. That elimination terminated the Aces’ shot at a three-peat, which would have been the first since the Houston Comets won the first four titles in WNBA history. New York was led by the tandem of Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu in the semis, with both women averaging more than 17 points per game. Stewie went for 21.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, while Ionescu gave her squad 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. Don’t overlook Jonquel Jones, the 2021 WNBA MVP who tied Stewart for the team lead in rebounds against the Aces.
2024 WNBA Finals
#1 New York Liberty vs #2 Minnesota Lynx
Game 1: Thursday, October 10, 7pm Central, ESPN
Game 2: Sunday, October 13, 2pm Central, ABC
Game 3: Wednesday, October 16, 7pm Central, ESPN
Game 4*: Friday, October 18, 7pm Central, ESPN
Game 5*: Sunday, October 20, 7pm Central, ESPN