Former Stanford Cardinal Alanna Smith and the Minnesota Lynx came up just short in the WNBA Finals, but she put up a heroic effort in defeat.

It wasn’t always pretty, but Alanna Smith fought through a back injury and made a big difference down the stretch as the Minnesota Lynx evened the WNBA Finals by beating the New York Liberty.

Opals coach Sandy Brondello leads the New York Liberty to its first WNBA championship at the expense of fellow Australian Alanna Smith and the Minnesota Lynx.