The No. 8 seed New York Liberty took the court on Tuesday night to face off with the No. 1 seed, Minnesota Lynx.
The upset capped one of the weirdest paths to the semifinals, maybe ever. It was surprising that New York was able to finish the season the way they did with a 26-18 record. Their regular season was marred by injuries and a lot of inconsistent play.
On the other hand, Minnesota ended their season with a league-best record of 33-11. However, once the series between these teams arrived, it became hard to tell who was No.1 and who was No. 8.
Starting with Breanna Stewart, she had quite the last couple of games. Coming off her Game 1 performance, where she notched 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks, Stewart once again proved to be a difference-maker for New York.
In Game 2, Stewart tallied equally impressive numbers, including 21 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.
A major positive for Stewart in Game 2, as opposed to Game 1, was her turnovers, or lack thereof. In Game 1, despite a magical game, she had a game-leading five turnovers.
Fast forward to Tuesday, Stewart only managed to have two, a fairly steep drop-off heading in the right direction.
However, her shooting took a minor step back as she just connected on six of her 16 shots, for 38%, as opposed to 11-for-18 in Game 1, for 61%. However, thankfully, while Stewart may not have scored a ton, she once again had a lot of help from the dominant Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu.
In Game 1, Jones had a rather quiet outing. She finished with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal, and a block, to her credit. Jones took a giant leap forward and had a monstrous performance in Game 2, tallying 21 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Jones also shot the ball extremely well and was excellent cleaning up the glass, tallying six offensive rebounds.
After having a game she'd probably like to forget in Game 1, Sabrina Ionescu got back on track in Game 2, picking up 18 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Ionescu's seven assists were a game-best, and her three steals were tied for a game-best.
The smile ðŸ˜
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) September 30, 2026
SA-3️⃣-NA WOULD LIKE A WORDDD 👌 | #LIGHTITUPNYL🗽 pic.twitter.com/qA4rLpFDvh
The Liberty also had the benefit of experience, with Stewart, Jones, and Ionescu all playing major roles on New York's 2024 championship team. They were at the center of the franchise's first title run, and again when the stakes rose this week.
The Liberty made history, becoming the first WNBA team ever to be ranked as a No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. This win saw the Liberty become the favorites to win the WNBA Championship this season. With this sweep, the Liberty are set to face either the Atlanta Dream or the Washington Mystics.
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