NEW YORK — Following Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, which ended in a 67-62 overtime victory for the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve expressed her frustration during the postgame press conference.

“I’m aware the headlines will say, ‘Reeve complains about the officiating,’ ” she remarked. “I welcome it. Bring it on — because this (expletive) was taken from us.”

Her anger stemmed from the significant difference in free-throw attempts during Game 5. The Liberty were called for 17 fouls, while the Lynx had 21, but New York received 25 free-throw attempts compared to Minnesota’s eight.

With just 6.3 seconds left in regulation and Minnesota ahead 60-58, New York’s Breanna Stewart made an awkward shot, but a foul was called on Alanna Smith. Reeve’s team was outraged and tried to challenge the call, but their attempt was denied, allowing Stewart to score two free throws that ultimately led to overtime.

“It’s disappointing that officiating played such a significant role in a series like this,” Reeve stated. “I found today’s officiating to be extremely disappointing. We need to modify our challenge rules. Third-party officials should assess calls during the game because that was not a foul.”

“That call should have been reversed during the challenge … if we submitted that play to the league, they would agree that it was marginal contact and not a foul. I guarantee that.”

Officiating had been a contentious issue throughout the series, with both Reeve and New York’s coach Sandy Brondello voicing concerns about missed calls. Following Reeve’s complaints after Game 3, the Lynx had 20 free throws to New York’s nine in Game 4.

Brondello also spoke out after Game 4, commenting, “I know Cheryl mentioned it previously, but we didn’t get any calls today. Should I speak out during a press conference too? We were getting hit and nothing was called … We just want fairness. If we’re getting fouled, that needs to be called. I’m one of the nicest coaches around, but this really frustrates me.”

Reeve stated on Sunday, “Officiating isn’t that complicated … In three of the games in this series, the same issues keep coming up.”

Reeve was especially displeased with the lack of calls for Minnesota’s star forward Napheesa Collier, who only had 14 free-throw attempts during the five-game series and did not go to the line at all in Game 5. By contrast, Stewart had 31 attempts.

Collier scored 22 points on Sunday, making 11 out of 23 shots. When asked about her struggles in the second half, she pointed to the officiating.

“Probably because I was being held a bit,” she admitted. “That made it tough to make shots.”

Brondello laughed off Reeve’s remarks about the game being “stolen,” stating, “I thought the officials were fair.”