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WNBA: L.A. Sparks' title-winning basket shouldn't have counted

By The Sports Xchange
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was livid about officiating at Thursday night's title game, which ended up costing the Lynx the WNBA title. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was livid about officiating at Thursday night's title game, which ended up costing the Lynx the WNBA title. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

The WNBA admitted Friday that a late basket should not have counted after a livid Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve criticized the officiating following her team's 77-76 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks in the decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night.

Reeve began her postgame press conference congratulating the Sparks before quickly moving on to critique the officiating. Her particular gripe stemmed from a play with 1:12 remaining in which Nneka Ogwumike converted a shot despite appearing to not get it off before the shot clock expired.

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"It's really unfortunate that players continually put themselves out there, playing and competing at a really high level," Reeve said after the game at Target Center in Minneapolis. "Whether it was the 8-second call in L.A. or the game today, doesn't matter, OK? The game today, it's not fair to the players. It's not enough just to apologize or send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league because it's not fair to these great players we have."

Renee Brown, the WNBA's chief of basketball operations and player relations, issued a statement Friday regarding the controversial play.

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"After reviewing postgame video, we have determined that Nneka Ogwumike's shot with 1:14 remaining in regulation time should not have counted due to a shot-clock violation, and that the referees improperly failed to review the play under the instant replay rules," the statement read.

The basket was never reviewed and the shot counted to give the Sparks a 73-71 lead. By WNBA rules, in the final two minutes of a game, plays are only reviewable immediately.

"It was reviewable at the time when she shot it," Reeve said. "The referees at that point didn't think anything was wrong. They didn't understand it was the end of the clock. They didn't hear the shot clock. When they put the ball in play, the play is no longer reviewable."

In Game 4, the Lynx benefited when the officials didn't call an 8-second violation late in that game. The WNBA admitted the next day that the officials missed the call.

"It's unfortunate we're having this discussion," Reeve told reporters Thursday night. "The number of people that have contacted us and said this shot was no good, it's unfortunate. I mean, I don't know what happens from there. Maybe they still win. I don't know. That's why I don't want to take anything away from LA."

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