The New York Liberty secured a historic advancement on the 2026 WNBA playoff bracket.
BROOKLYN―The concrete jungle where dreams are made of produced a nightmare for the Minnesota Lynx.
The New York Liberty couldn't have re-discovered the New York groove at a better time: with an 87-71 victory over mighty Minnesota in the latter of a two-game, first-round set, the Liberty is the first team to clinch its final four ticket on the 2026 WNBA playoff bracket. It's a historic advancement, as the Liberty becomes the first eighth-place team to win a playoff round since the WNBA switched to its current no-bye format in 2022.
"If you look at us early on in the season, when we had really big dips or lulls, that was probably the story of the game, when we'd have quarters where it was just too much of a hole for us to kind of crawl back out of," noted forward Jonquel Jones. "I think now we've learned how to weather that storm. I think we've learned how to, I think, control our emotions too and control our expectations."
"Every team that we play against is super talented, and they're going to be able to make runs. But it's about how we respond to those runs and how we kind of claw back as a team. I think [this series] really showed that we have been taking those steps in the right direction ... It's good for those things to kind of materialize in a game that matters so much, in a game that was obviously closeout game as well. So it felt great."
Keep Your Enemies Closer
The latest edition of the budding rivalry between New York and Minnesota lacked its usual grand stage: the teams famously played for championship glory in 2024 and many believed that the top-ranked Lynx had a chance to avenge its heartbreaking five-game loss.
The New Yorkers wouldn't have had it any other way: many cherished the professional relationship that Brooklyn has established with the Lynx on the league's biggest stages. Leonie Fiebich, one of heroines from the 2024 Finals get-together, called the subsequent meetings "personal" when the Liberty took a 14-point decision from the Lynx at the tip of Independence Day weekend.
Hindsight isn't necessary to see the ignored foreshadowing the Liberty offered on the road to its historic upset: New York was one of two teams (alongside second-round foe Atlanta) to defeat Minnesota twice in the regular season and the latter victory came by a 12-point tally on the first game back from the FIBA World Cup break.
Breanna Stewart tonight:
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) September 30, 2026
• 21 points
• 5 rebounds
• 4 assists
• 2 steals
• 2 blocks
• 40 MINUTES PLAYED pic.twitter.com/BHGk06DlA9
No team brought about heavier rain on the Lynx's parade at the top than the Liberty: New York was top among Lynx opponents in points, field goals, field goal percentage, and three-pointers. It was the only club to have a positive point differential in its regular season series with the two-time defending No. 1 seed.
One and Fun
It was anything but a lazy Sunday for the Liberty in the opener, which ended with a firm 91-75 margin at Target Center.
Sunday staged a game that saw New York hit early and often, as the Liberty sank 13 three-pointers and never trailed after Sabrina Ionescu reprised one her most famous role: Minneapolis marauder. A three-pointer that was part of a 14-4 run gave the Liberty a lasting lead and was one of 13 sunk on the afternoon. Four alone came from the arms of Fiebich, who was 6-of-7 from the field overall.
New York once again flexed its mathematical muscle in a second half that rendered a four-point intermission deficit long forgotten: the Lynx's field goal percentage was 14 points lower in the latter 20 minutes compared to the first, it forced eight turnovers compared to only five in the first, and the Liberty won the rebounding battle by a dozen. To put that last number in perspective, Stewart had seven rebounds of her own in the last 20, one less than than the whole Lynx had as a chain.
JUST BEFORE THE 3RD ENDED.
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 30, 2026
Sabrina Ionescu. That's it. That's the tweet. 😮💨
16 PTS | 5 AST | 4 REB | 4 3PM https://t.co/Sg7EnCJt8h pic.twitter.com/AL0H2yV7S7
To cap it all off, the group project that was containing freshman sensation Olivia Miles earned a passing grade and then some: Miles was 3-of-13 from the field and, perhaps more importantly, sent off just a single assist in her WNBA playoff debut.
"They were a little bit too free in the first half. We felt like a few times we could have challenged a little bit better. A few times we didn't communicate. We wanted to try to play five on five as much as possible, and that got open a little bit," DeMarco noted. "It's a hard team to play against. There's talent everywhere. They're shooting everywhere. So stuff like that's going to happen. I thought we just stayed true to what we were trying to do, and it worked out for us in the second half."
"I felt like we were connected. I could hear us talking. We covered for each other, we were aggressive," the coach continued. "I just loved our aggressiveness on that end and we made the adjustment. It was a tough second quarter for us, and we changed some things. I thought we came out strong in the second half."
Deja Stew All Over Again
For all the talk about repetitive sequels sinking Hollywood, something similar was being penned on the opposite coast.
The Liberty had prevailed in the introduction of last season's first round set with Phoenix Mercury but endured a downright brutal second act in front of its home crowd in Game 2, falling by 26 on Atlantic Avenue. Finals-bound Phoenix then won Game 3 at home in what became the metropolitan coda for head coach Sandy Brondello, who was ousted in favor of longtime Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco shortly after.
Some New Yorkers were content to let the past be the past. Fiebich, for example, declined to speak about it even when the Liberty's name was etched in the second round. Stewart, however, was more than keen to fill the awkward time between contests.
"This doesn't mean relax," Stewart said of the Game 1 shocker. ""For those that were here last year, like we did this in Phoenix, and then we got smoked on our home court, [it's familiar] ... Obviously we had a ton of turnovers and want to be better in that area but we're going to have just the same steadiness that we had for today."
Only adding to the idea that Liberty fans had read this script before was the fact that Stewart had a major role in the Game 1 wonder that perhaps defined the middle initial of MVP a little too well: Stewart's 34-point, 12-rebound, six-assist box score that was the first of its kind in WNBA playoff history was the immediate follow-up to desert dramatics that saw her serve as the Liberty's exclusive fourth quarter scorer. It was hardly excessive to expect that Stewart would receive a little help, especially considering the elite squad around her.
It Takes Two
The lights were so bright but they certainly didn't blind―or deafen―the Liberty's primary torch bearers.
New York set the tone from the get-go thanks to an instant five-point outburst from Jones, creating a lead that would never flip. It set the tone for a 21-point, 13-rebound effort for Jones and fellow metropolitan savior Ionescu likewise re-discovered familiar talents with a four-triple game that she complemented with three steals.
Both Ionescu and Jones were plus-15 while on the floor, good for second on the team ... only because Stewart stayed on the floor for the entirety of the 16-point game to the point she essentially called off a late substitution like a pitcher asking for one more batter.
The sealing assistance, however, felt like pure, sterling vindication for both the familiar faces of the Liberty's ongoing "Big Three" era and a coaching staff that has dealt with its share of doubters since taking over for the group that led basketball-crazed New York to its first major professional basketball title in over five decades.
"I think our staff did did incredibly well," Stewart saluted. "The moment we knew it was Minny, they've been like meeting. It was Chris's birthday [and] he had meetings all day with with the staff, with the players, making sure everybody was locked in on what we needed to do. I think that you know they accepted the challenge in that this is their first rodeo here and I think they did incredibly well."
That faith, in turn, was reciprocated from staff to players despite the rollercoaster journey it has taken to get to this point. Burdened by a season that has had her playing catch-up from the get-go thanks to a preseason injury, Ionescu's trademark shooting touch has been more sporadically on display than it usually has been. DeMarco maintained impenetrable confidence, which was rewarded with 31 points (21 coming on three-pointers), 13 assists, and five steals. Her defensive rating ranks ninth among playoff competitors averaging 20 minutes through the first two stages.
"We go as Sab goes ... We talked about this a million times, but she's an all-around player, and we need her rebounding, especially from the guard position," DeMarco said prior to Game 1. "We need her setting up others. If she's playing the way she's capable of playing, she's just doing everything out there, whether it's distributing to teammates, whether it's getting to the foul line, shooting obviously. Defensively, she's been very good for us, just pursuing a finger roll, pursuing an off-ball action, staying in the play, lane switches, boxing up, rebounding. We need stops to push, so she's super important."
New York Gritty
The Liberty was also pleased to live up to tropes about metropolitan grit. Winning the rebounding battle by seven was but one fulfillment: after finishing in a 12-all tie in the points in the paint category over the first two periods of Game 1, the Liberty outscored the Lynx 74-50 in the last hour of series game play.
That forced Minnesota, kept in the sandwiched portions of the outside shooting rankings thanks primarily to a Kayla McBride surplus, to rely on its average-to-weaker mid-range games, which played to New York's benefit.
Jonquel Jones tonight:
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) September 30, 2026
• 21 points
• 13 REBOUNDS
• 2 assists
• 9/14 FG pic.twitter.com/OOxQ2TogE7
"One of our key points that we wanted to lock in on for both Game 1 and 2 was to have that physicality, and that comes on both ends," noted reserve Rebecca Allen, a longtime staple in pesky New York defensive efforts. "I think even JJ in the paint, the way that she got so many those o-boards, she gave us second, third chance opportunities ... I just think her presence in the paint just creates so much for us. Sometimes we miss her but it's the way that she keeps on fighting in there and the we get the ball back to her that's really important."
"I think it's understanding that we have that we can bang down there in the paint and [knowing] that a lot of the game is going to be won there," Jones added. "Playing down there and playing in that type of way, it's playoff basketball. There's going to be a lot of physicality. The team that's able to take advantage of it, adapt to it, and obviously score in the paint is probably going to be the more successful team and so we understand that. We did a really good job of making sure that we were the ones that you know were the victors [in that area]."
The Dream's Alive
Liberating as first round redemption may be, the Liberty won't be raising any banners to commemorate the win. New York now goes into the best-of-five semifinal set with the equally surging Atlanta Dream, who took a late couple from the Liberty in the final days of the regular season.
When the Liberty takes the floor on Sunday, they'll obviously don some familiar shade of seafoam that the franchise has been repping since its inception in 1997. It'd still be fair to say, however, that the Dream will be facing a different-looking team than the one that ended the original 44-game slate just about a week ago.
"I think that we understand who we are as a team," said Jones. "We've said it before: we're not listening to outside noise. We understand that we can do a lot of great things. Coming into this series, yes, there's seeding, and, obviously, that's because of you know the regular season. But we feel like we can play anybody and we can beat anybody, and that's the mindset that we have moving forward."
"Yeah, it feels good to be able to make history, obviously, and it had to be done in order for us to advance. Now that it's done, [being the first eighth seed to win] is a nice thing to say now that that's been accomplished. But we still have a lot of work to do, and and we're still playing for a lot."
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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