At halftime Sunday, Sandy Brondello looked at Nyara Sabally and said, “Be ready for the big lineup.”

The third-year center, who played just 15 total minutes in the Liberty’s semifinal series against the Aces, was what Breanna Stewart called “the X factor.”

And Sabally helped Liberty clinch the franchise’s first title in Game 5 of overtime, 67-62, against the Lynx.

Sabally had only played 15 minutes in a playoff game in her career, with a maximum of 17 minutes and 13 points off the bench.

“It’s really just the mental preparation of staying ready and locked in,” Sabally said after becoming champion. “If you know what minutes you’re going to get, that’s what you’re going to get and you have to be ready to go out there. Our team has such a high standard and to live up to that you have to be mentally ready. Otherwise you will only harm the team in the long run.

“But with great teammates, it’s pretty easy to just go on the court and leave everything out there because my role is pretty simple – run around the court, get rebounds and maybe shoot a few balls.”

She entered the second half with the Liberty trailing by seven, along with Stewart and eventual WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones. It was a new strategy based on length for the rest of the game.

The three had played a total of less than 10 minutes on the court together throughout Liberty’s season, but by the end of the night they accounted for 43 of the team’s points.

Sabally had back-to-back layups off assists from Sabrina Ionescu, who scored just five points in the championship game. The three-pointers gave the Liberty their first lead of the night, 40-38, with three minutes left in the third quarter.

She scored nine of her points in the quarter, including going 3-for-4 at the foul line.

“Listen, we were tired. We tried to do everything we could and we needed that spark and that was it,” Stewart said of Sabally. “So she continued to trust the process and we are so proud of her.”

After Leonie Fiebich knocked down the first 3-point shot of overtime, Sabally followed up with a big steal and a layup after a bad pass from the Lynx’s Kayla McBride to give Liberty a 65-60 lead.

Sabally, 24, struggled with a number of injuries early in her career.

The Liberty selected Oregon out of No. 5 overall in the 2022 draft despite knowing she was dealing with a right knee injury and would miss a season.

“Biggest game of her career and she really rose to the challenge,” Brondello said. “For a young player, that says a lot about her. The future is pretty, pretty bright.”