Stewart scores 34 as Liberty beat top-seeded Lynx in WNBA playoff opener
New York won 91–75 in Minneapolis to take a 1–0 lead in the best-of-three series. Minnesota must win Tuesday’s Game 2 to extend its season.
The New York Liberty beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 91–75 in Minneapolis on Sunday, taking the opening game of their best-of-three WNBA first-round series. Breanna Stewart scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for eighth-seeded New York. Minnesota must win Game 2 in New York on Tuesday to keep its season alive.
Stewart shot 11-for-18 from the floor, made 10 of 12 free throws and hit two three-pointers, according to Field Level Media. The Associated Press reported that she also had six assists, two steals and two blocks. Her scoring total was two points short of the Liberty franchise record for a playoff game, AP reported.
How New York took control
Minnesota scored the first six points, but New York answered with a 15–0 run, Field Level Media reported. The Liberty made their first four three-point attempts and led by as many as 10 points early. Their shooting from distance remained a factor throughout the game: New York finished 13-for-25 from three-point range.
The Lynx recovered in the second quarter. Nia Brodie made three three-pointers in the period, including one that tied the game at 36. Courtney Williams later put Minnesota ahead 41–40 with a three, and rookie Olivia Miles made a step-back three with 2.4 seconds left in the half. Field Level Media reported that the Lynx led at halftime.
Brodie made four threes in the first half, tying the most by a Lynx player in a playoff first half, according to Field Level Media. She finished with a team-high 16 points off the bench, AP reported. The rally gave Minnesota a response to New York’s fast start, but it did not carry through to a win.
The Liberty led by five entering the fourth quarter, then used a 17–6 run to pull away, Field Level Media reported. Stewart made a catch-and-shoot three during that stretch. Leonie Fiebich added 16 points for New York and made four three-pointers.
“We were ready to go,” Stewart said after the game, according to Field Level Media. “I think our entire group — we knew what it was going to take. It was loud in here, but we kept our composure.” Stewart also said she wanted to do whatever she could on both ends of the court to help her team win.
A difficult opener for Minnesota
Miles scored 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting in her postseason debut. Napheesa Collier scored 12 and fouled out, Field Level Media reported. AP also reported Collier’s foul-out and said All-Star center Natasha Howard fouled out. Kayla McBride scored 14 points after missing her first five three-point attempts, according to AP.
The result puts Minnesota’s season at immediate risk despite its No. 1 seed. The Lynx entered the playoffs as the top seed for a second consecutive year, according to the WNBA’s series preview. That preview gave Minnesota a 33–11 regular-season record and New York a 26–18 record, placing the teams at opposite ends of the eight-team playoff field.
New York’s eighth seed did not mean the teams were unfamiliar with one another. The Liberty won their 2026 regular-season series 2–1, with victories on July 3 and Sept. 18; Minnesota won their July 11 meeting, the WNBA preview said. The league also noted that New York won the Commissioner’s Cup during a season that included both an eight-game winning streak and a 2–8 stretch.
The matchup also revisits the 2024 WNBA Finals. New York beat Minnesota at home in overtime in the deciding fifth game of that series, according to the league preview. Four of those five games were decided by five points or fewer. Sunday’s 16-point margin made this opener a markedly different result, while leaving the current series undecided.
What Game 2 means
The WNBA uses a 1-1-1 home-court sequence in its best-of-three first round. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern in New York, with USA Network and CNBC listed as broadcasters in the league preview. A Liberty win would end the series; a Lynx win would send it back to Minnesota.
If needed, Game 3 is scheduled for Oct. 1 in Minnesota, with its time and broadcaster still to be determined in the league’s published schedule. Field Level Media reported that Minnesota had gone 0–3 in previous best-of-three series after losing Game 1. That history describes the Lynx’s earlier series; Tuesday’s game will determine whether this one continues.
Minnesota’s No. 1 seed was secured before the playoffs began. For context on that regular-season milestone and Miles’s late-season injury, see the earlier report on the Lynx clinching the top seed.
Sources and context
- Liberty win Game 1 to put top-seeded Lynx on brink of WNBA playoff exitThe Guardian (Associated Press copy)
- Breanna Stewart pours in 34 as Liberty surprise Lynx in Game 1Field Level Media
- First Round Series Preview: 2026 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google PixelWNBA
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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