Eighth-Seeded Liberty Spoil Lynx’s Fantastic Season
By: Randall Tom
In round one of the 30th Season of the WNBA, the 2024 champion New York Liberty upset the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87-71 on Tuesday, becoming the first No. 8 seed in WNBA playoff history to sweep a No. 1 seed and advance to the semifinals.
Despite the Lynx being considered a favorite to win the WNBA Finals and holding the No. 1 seed for 11 weeks, the Liberty swooped in. Led by Syracuse native Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu, the team peaked at the right time.
In Game 1, Stewart posted a 34-point double-double, moving her into the top three in WNBA history in 20-point playoff games. Then in game two, the Liberty’s championship trio from 2024 combined for 60 points in the series-clinching victory.
When asked how the Liberty as a team were feeling advancing to the next round, center Jonquel Jones had the utmost confidence.
“It feels good, we understand who we are as a team,” said the 2024 WNBA Finals MVP. “We’re not listening to outside noise, we understand that we can do a lot of great things. We feel like we can play with anybody and beat anybody. That’s the mindset we have moving forward. It feels good to make history. It had to be done for us to advance. It’s nice to say it’s been accomplished, but we have a lot of work to do.”
On the other side of the matchup, the Lynx secured the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season but were unable to reach their ultimate goal. Minnesota this series only led for a total of 3 minutes and 23 seconds in game one.
For the Lynx, their season changed overnight. On Monday, Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve was named the Coach Of The Year, while Lynx rookie sensation was named the unanimous Rookie Of The Year.
However, in Miles’ playoff debut, she struggled to get going in the series. Miles was named a 2026 All-Star and was projected second in MVP voting, averaging an efficient 19.8 points per game along with 6 assists.
In two playoff games, the Liberty limited Miles to just 16 total points in two games averaging 8 points per game and 1 assist while shooting 25 percent from behind the arc.
With the WNBA’s first-round format being the best of three games, the Liberty were able to capitalize in two games despite being just eight games above .500.
New York’s hunt for their 2nd title in 3 years will continue against the No.4 Atlanta Dream in a best-of-five game series starting Sunday.
