The No 8 seed New York Liberty defeated the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87-71 in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series on Tuesday night, advancing to the semi-finals and making history in the process.
Jonquel Jones recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Breanna Stewart added 21 points and Sabrina Ionescu contributed 18, helping the Liberty become the first No 8 seed to eliminate a No 1 seed in the league's 30-year history. The WNBA has used various playoff formats over the years, and in many of them, such a matchup was not possible. In 2022, the league adopted the current format, in which the top eight teams compete in the quarter-finals.
Jones sets the tone early
“I feel like we had an advantage in our size against them, and I wanted to make my impact early,” the 6ft 6in Jones said after the game. “If a shot is going up I felt like I had to be in the paint and set the tone for the night.”
New York now awaits the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series. The Dream lead that series 1-0 and play at Washington on Wednesday night. The semi-finals begin Sunday.
A year after losing in the first round to Phoenix despite taking a 1-0 lead in that series, New York were determined to avoid a repeat.
Liberty control the game
The Liberty led by five points after the first quarter and scored nine of the final 11 points in the second quarter to take a 49-37 lead at halftime.
New York were up 52-39 with 6:26 left in the third quarter when Stewart drove to the basket and was hit in the face by Olivia Miles as she attempted to block the shot. Stewart was down for a minute as officials reviewed the play and upgraded it to a Flagrant-1 foul. As Stewart walked off the court, she raised her hands to the sellout crowd of 17,593, who chanted “M-V-P”. Stewart made both free throws.
Minnesota never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Lynx season ends in disappointment
The Lynx's season ends in disappointment again. Minnesota had the best regular-season record but could not put it together against New York. On Monday, Cheryl Reeve won the league's Coach of the Year award, and Miles was a unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year.
Miles struggled in both games against New York. She had five points, missing seven of her eight shots in 17 minutes on Tuesday night, and was benched for most of the second half. The Liberty's size and ability to protect the rim bothered the standout first-year player. During the regular season, Miles averaged 19.8 points and 6.0 assists.
“I thought the playoffs would be hard for our team, regardless of who we were playing in the first round,” Reeve said. “We probably needed a little better matchup to do some of the things that we did all season long, but that's not how it works.”
Courtney Williams scored 18 points and Napheesa Collier added 14 to lead the Lynx.
