On Sept. 27, The New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx in a 91-75 road win in game one of the first round of the 2026 playoffs. The Liberty are now the first No. 8 seed in WNBA history to win a playoff game against a No. 1 seed.
Breanna Stewart led the team with 34 points, six assists, 12 rebounds and two blocks, shooting just over 61 percent from the field. The game was the second 30-point, 10-rebound game in Liberty history.
“I think I was just really ready,” Stewart said, as reported by ESPN. “If you don’t get up for these big moments, then you’ve got to rethink why you’re playing basketball.”
“She’s a walking mismatch, so we’re able to just look for her,” said Sabrina Ionescu.
Stewart echoed that her teammates kept finding her, which made her just want to keep going.
Stewart’s 24 points matched her highest scoring total in a playoff game since joining The Liberty, and passed Seinmone Augustus for seventh on the WNBA’s all time field goals list.
As a team, The Liberty made 52 percent of their three-point attempts.
Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said that her team did a “solid job” in the first half, but fouled too much in the second. “You can’t give [Stewart] 12 free thrones,” Reeve said.
The Lynx were the favorites to win the finals this season, but will have to devise a plan to stop Stewart if they want to keep their championship dreams in play.
