Anatomy of a comeback: How the Liberty seized control of WNBA Finals

The New York Liberty moved into the driver's seat with a wild 80-77 win over the Minnesota Lynx in Wednesday's Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.

New York is one victory away from ending its drought as the league's only original franchise without a title.

Here are three factors that helped the Liberty complete the third-largest comeback in WNBA Finals history.

Stewie's all-around brilliance

Breanna Stewart was excellent, with the Lynx keeping Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones in check. The UConn product continued to cement her legacy among the best players in league history, tallying 30 points, 11 boards, four blocks, one assist, and one steal in 36 minutes. Stewart also went 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. It was her 10th Finals game with at least 20 points, which ties Maya Moore for the WNBA record. Stewart's 14-point effort in the third quarter was the highest by any player in one frame during this year's playoffs.

Stewart locked in after a modest first-half showing, registering 22 of the Liberty's 45 points over the final 20 minutes, including 13 straight between the third and fourth quarters. That's the most consecutive team points scored by a single player in WNBA Finals history, per ESPN Research. Stewart showed confidence pulling up from the mid-range, hit turnaround jumpers in the paint on mismatches, drained a pair of triples, and continuously got to the free-throw line. The two-time Finals MVP's defensive work on Napheesa Collier was phenomenal, as she was largely responsible for the Lynx star's four turnovers and 9-of-22 shooting performance. Stewart repeatedly stood tall with her 7-foot-1 wingspan and blocked Collier twice.

"We don't win this game without Stewie," Ionescu told reporters postgame, including Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press. "There's nothing I can say. That (game-winning) shot's nice, but what (Stewart) was able to do for us tonight willed us back into the game."

Sabrina's fearlessness

It was a relatively pedestrian night for Ionescu until her Game 3 heroics. The three-time All-Star guard had two points on 1-of-4 shooting halfway through Wednesday night's affair, with her first made field goal coming on a floater with six seconds left in the second quarter. She then scored five points in the next frame, including a triple with 1:07 remaining to extend her playoff streak to 23 straight games with at least one 3-point field goal.

Nobody would've faulted Ionescu if she deferred to Stewart for the last shot, especially with all the work the 6-foot-4 forward had done to get the team back in it. But New York head coach Sandy Brondello showed no hesitation in drawing up a play for Ionescu with the game in the balance. The Oregon product rewarded that faith on the ensuing possession, drilling her patented step-back three over Kayla McBride with one second left in regulation to put the Liberty on the precipice of its maiden WNBA championship.

"I trust in my preparation. I'm built for this moment," Ionescu told ESPN's Holly Rowe soon after her game-winning basket.

Liberty finish strong

New York flipped the script on Minnesota, using the same formula that led to its collapse in Game 1 to earn a dramatic road victory. The Lynx led for only 3:17 through the first two matchups but jumped out to a big lead in Game 3, forcing the Liberty to play catchup for most of the evening.

Minnesota led by as many as 15 points, yet New York kept itself within striking distance by finishing each quarter strong. The Liberty ended each of the first two frames on a 7-2 scoring run and then closed the third quarter with eight straight points to cut the deficit to one.

"They punched us in the face in the first quarter, and we continued to wear them down," Stewart told reporters following the contest, per ASAP Sports.

"We knew that our pace was something that made them tired, and for me, it was just kind of like I was motivated. I was mad. And I liked my matchups that I had and really kind of attacking them to make sure that we could get this back into where we needed to be for it to be a ballgame."

New York limited Minnesota to six points on 2-of-11 shooting over the last six minutes of the contest. Collier was held scoreless during that span. The Liberty's ability to tighten things down the stretch put them in a position to steal a contest in which they coughed up the ball six more times and were outscored in transition and second-chance points.