In a WNBA playoff game, the eighth-seeded New York Liberty defeated the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx at Target Center on Sunday, winning 91-75. Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with an impressive performance of 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks. Despite the victory, both Stewart and her teammates emphasized the difficulty ahead in Game 2, warning against complacency given the Lynx’s strong road record during the regular season.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-29,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The New York Liberty secured a shocking 91-75 victory over the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of their best-of-three WNBA playoff series on Sunday, April 23, 2026. Despite finishing as the eighth seed with a record of 26-18, the Liberty's star player Breanna Stewart led the charge with an impressive performance of 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. The win puts the Liberty one game away from eliminating the previously undefeated Lynx, who must now win Game 2 to avoid being the first top-seeded team in history to fail to advance past the first round since a format change in 2022.
Stewart's clutch play was pivotal, as she scored crucial points and made key defensive plays against her former college teammate Napheesa Collier. The Liberty capitalized on multiple Lynx turnovers and foul trouble, with Collier and All-Star center Natasha Howard each fouling out of the game. Rookie Olivia Miles struggled in her first playoff appearance, scoring just 11 points.
With Game 2 scheduled for Tuesday, April 25, at home, the Liberty now hold a narrow advantage but remain wary of a potential Lynx comeback, as they narrowly escaped a similar situation last year against Phoenix. The Liberty’s defense was instrumental in limiting the Lynx's scoring opportunities and forcing turnovers that kept the game close until the final quarter when New York pulled away. Despite their historic lead, Stewart emphasized the need for continued focus to avoid being caught off guard by Minnesota's resilience.
Written for “Liberty-Lynx WNBA Playoff Matchup” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 13 other(s) covering the same event.
The eighth-seeded Liberty walked into Target Center on Sunday on a mission, and left with a 91-75 win against the top-seeded Lynx, putting them one win from the semifinals while pushing Minnesota’s season to the verge of elimination.
asserted
Liberty → walk → elimination
Stewart authored her best playoff game in a Liberty uniform, posting 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
asserted
Stewart → author → points
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tRY IT NOWAnd yet, Stewart wasn’t outwardly celebrating like someone who had helped demoralize the league’s best team.
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who → cover → team
“This doesn’t mean relax,” Stewart said of going up 1-0 in the best-of-three series.
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Stewart → mean → series
“Minny’s exceptionally talented, and they’ll throw everything at us Tuesday.”
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they → ’ → us
Stewart remembered what happened a year ago.
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what → remember → ?
She’s far from the only one.
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She → ’ → one
Last September, the Liberty won Game 1 of their first-round series against the Mercury on the road.
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Liberty → win → road
They returned home and got hammered 86-60.
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They → return → ?
Two nights later, the Mercury finished the job.
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Mercury → finish → job
The Liberty had the advantage but couldn’t hold on.
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Liberty → have → advantage
They face a similar trap Tuesday, when they host the Lynx for a potential closeout game.
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they → face → game
“We understand it’s going to be even harder now that we have them on the ropes,” Jonquel Jones said.
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Jones → understand → ropes
“When you have anybody with their backs against the wall, they’re going to fight to try to get out of that.”
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they → have → that
After Sunday’s loss, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve took solace in knowing they went a league-best 18-4 on the road during the regular season.
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they → take → season
Though Game 1 was a disappointing result for the Lynx, veteran guard Kayla McBride said the locker room’s confidence hadn’t been rocked.
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confidence → say → Lynx
“There’s not one second that I don’t believe in this group,” McBride said.
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McBride → ’ → group
“This 40 minutes wasn’t our best, but we have another opportunity to show up for ourselves, for each other and for this organization and for these fans.
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we → have → fans
“… I believe in us.
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I → believe → us
I don’t have any doubt inside my body that we can’t go to New York and bring this s–t back.”
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we → have → t
The Liberty are one win away from making history as the first team to beat a No. 1 seed in the first round in the WNBA’s current playoff format.
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Liberty → make → format
It looks both incredibly close and dangerously far away.
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It → look → ?
“[Minnesota] is a team that has proven that throughout the season that they’re the best,” Jones said.
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Jones → prove → season
“We don’t expect that it’s just going to be some blowout and it’s going to be easy, that this is going to be a cakewalk.
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this → expect → ?
We understand that it’s going to take everybody being locked in, everybody having a very high level of focus and just [playing] team basketball again to be able to close the series.”
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everybody → understand → series
Both teams are sure to make adjustments.
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teams → make → adjustments
The Liberty can’t count on McBride and Courtney Williams having off nights again or Napheesa Collier and Natasha Howard getting into foul trouble.
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Collier → count → trouble
The Liberty also need to be honest with themselves about their turnover problem.
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Liberty → need → problem
The Lynx ranked second in the league in points off turnovers, averaging 18 per game.
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Lynx → rank → game
On Sunday, the Liberty committed 21 turnovers, which led to 18 Lynx points.
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which → commit → points
Advancing in the playoffs — they would play the winner of the Dream-Mystics series — is within reach.
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they → advance → reach
Last year’s early exit, though, should serve as a reminder of how quickly that opportunity can vanish.
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opportunity → serve → reminder
The Liberty’s mental fortitude and focus will be key to closing out the series.
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fortitude → close → series
“Just staying mentally really locked in,” Leonie Fiebich said.
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Fiebich → stay → ?
“[When] we’re really calm and collected and can just focus on our execution, I think, that’s really, really good.
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that → ’re → execution
When we gave away games is when we got emotional and … there’s some bad calls and we react to that.”
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we → give → that
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