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7 Takeaways from Game 5 of the WNBA Finals

Here are some takeaways from Game 5 of the WNBA Finals -- and why the Minnesota Lynx are the 2015 WNBA Champions.

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

What an emotional ending, as the Minnesota Lynx are crowned the 2015 WNBA Champions defeating the Fever in a sudden death game, 69-52.

It was an incredible performance by the Lynx tonight, as they put their heart and soul into this game. Sylvia Fowles was the most explosive tonight, collecting her 3rd double-double of the finals with 20 point, 11 rebounds.

Seimone Augustus was right behind Fowles with 16 points, and Rebekkuh Brunson collected a double-double as well, ending the night with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Maya Moore was quiet for the team tonight, collecting only 5 points, but her silence did not stop this Minnesota team from climbing to the top.

Tamika Catchings was the leading scorer for the Fever with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Briann January with 13. However the efforts from these two, to keep the Fever alive was just not enough.

What was interesting watching the first quarter was how these two teams were both playing as they did in game one. They kept the momentum back and forth, but you could tell that the tensions were high, and that these women were letting their nerves lead the way.

In the second quarter neither team performed well offensively with many empty possessions. Both teams ended the second quarter with extremely low field goal percentages, with Minnesota at 30% and Indiana at 29.6%. By then it seemed as if this really could be anyone's ball game.

What really made the game take a turn was that while going into the third quarter, Minnesota was able to pick up their momentum, while Indiana failed to rise to the occasion and remained stuck in this nerve-dominant gloom.

Another thing that really hurt the Fever, which their nerves quite possibly could have contributed to, was how many turnovers they allowed. The inadvertence really took off in the second quarter when they allowed seven turnovers in the first five minutes. Overall the Fever allowed 21 turnovers in the entire game, which lost them a brutal 16 points to the Lynx.

As Indiana was allowing turnover after turnover, you could tell that their hopes were fading away. This was an unrecognizable Indiana team, and it cost them a championship. It felt as if Indiana just handed the game to Minnesota without even trying to fight.

And what really punched their pride, was Montgomery's huge buzzer-beating driving layup that got the crowd on their feet, and the adrenaline pumping through the Lynx's veins.

Minnesota lead by their biggest lead of the finals in the fourth quarter by 20 points, and such a huge lead about sealed the fate of both teams. Indiana was able to go on a 10-2 sprint, but none of their efforts were enough to catch up to this explosive Minnesota offense.

This is now Minnesota's 3rd time as WNBA champions in 5 years. Congrats to the 2015 WNBA Champions.