Griffith scored 19 of her 25 points in the second half as the Sacramento Monarchs posted a thrilling 69–65 victory over the Connecticut Sun in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
An Olympian and All-Star, Griffith helped the Monarchs make the Sun's home-court advantage useless in what is expected to be a tight best-of-five series.
With the crowd at Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Arena on its feet for virtually the entire second half, Griffith showed why she's one of the league's top players.
Wyckoff's 3-pointer with two seconds left tied the game and the Sun pitched a shutout in overtime as they evened the WNBA Finals with a 77–70 victory over the mistake-prone Sacramento Monarchs.
Whalen watched helplessly from the bench as two free throws each from DeMya Walker and Kara Lawson gave Sacramento a 70–67 lead with 8.6 seconds remaining.
McWilliams-Franklin passed to the right corner to an open Wyckoff, whose shot splashed through to force overtime and bring a roar from the crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Connecticut All-Star guard Lindsay Whalen, who sat out Game 2 with knee and ankle injuries, returned but managed just two points and two assists with five turnovers in 23 minutes.
The Monarchs won their first WNBA title, riding All-Star Yolanda Griffith and rallying for a frantic 62–59 victory over the hard-luck Connecticut Sun.