LeBron James, Candace Parker question officiating in Game 5 of WNBA Finals

Many analysts and fans also argued that Stewart should have been called for a travel before being handed two free throws. 

Minnesota challenged the call, but it was upheld, and "Stewie" was awarded free throws. The referees ruled that Smith was "not in legal guarding position" while making contact with Stewart.  

After the loss, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve did not hold back, declaring that the title was "stolen" from her squad in the 67-62 overtime loss. She also argued that a third party should be involved in reviewing challenges rather than the on-court officials having the final say. 

"All the headlines will be, 'Reeve cries foul.' Bring it on," Reeves said, via ESPN's Alexa Philippou.  "Because this [expletive] was stolen from us. At the other end when they challenged it, if we would have turned that clip in, they would have told us that this was marginal contact, no foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed. So, when you review, there should be the same parameters that you're reviewing with, but the three people on the game need a fourth party to let them know. Because that decided the game."

Reeve also expressed concern about her star player, Napheesa Collier, not being sent to the foul line even once during Game 5, and the Liberty receiving 17 more free throw attempts as a team (23-6). 

"These guys shot 30% [from the floor]," Reeve said of Liberty. "The difference was in the foul line. It just doesn't feel right that you lose a series with that level of discrepancy."

When Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was asked about her counterpart's comments, she said the officiating was "pretty fair" and her team "found a way to win" against a resilient Lynx team. 

In fairness to Liberty, Lynx received 11 more free throws in Game 4 and benefited from a few controversial calls in the final period of Game 1. As such, both teams probably felt they were robbed by refs at various points in the series. 

Ultimately, fans were treated to an exhilarating Finals that should be a ringing endorsement for women's basketball. It was only fitting that Game 5 marked the first time in history that a winner-takes-all Finals game was decided in overtime. The series was just that close.