Stewart Makes WNBA Playoff History as Liberty Upset Top-Seeded Lynx in Game 1
The short version
- The eighth-seeded Liberty beat the No. 1 seed Lynx 91-75 in Game 1 of their WNBA first-round series at Target Center.
- Breanna Stewart finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks, a line never before recorded in WNBA playoff history.
- It was the ninth playoff game of Stewart's career with 30 or more points.
- Minnesota shot 41.8 percent and scored 31 second-half points; rookie Olivia Miles had one assist against four turnovers.
- Game 2 is Tuesday in Brooklyn, where a Liberty win would clinch a semifinal berth.
Breanna Stewart's 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists lifted the eighth-seeded Liberty past Minnesota 91-75, moving New York within one win of the WNBA semifinals.
The eighth-seeded New York Liberty began their WNBA first-round playoff series with a road upset on Sunday, defeating the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx 91-75 at Target Center in Minneapolis. As the visiting team in a best-of-three matchup, New York secured the away victory it needed to take control, and it now leads the series 1-0.
Breanna Stewart delivered the performance that decided the game. The Liberty forward scored 34 points and gathered 10 rebounds to complete a double-double, and she supplemented that work with six assists, two steals and two blocks. New York's fortunes have long followed Stewart's level of play, and the opening game of this series provided one more illustration.
Her production also earned a place in the league's record book. Postseason records show that no WNBA player had ever finished a playoff game with that particular combination of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Beyond the history, the outing was the ninth of Stewart's playoff career in which she has scored 30 or more points.
The circumstances made her showing even more striking. Stewart has twice been named the WNBA's most valuable player and has won three league championships, a resume that has rarely left her on the short side of a playoff matchup. With New York seeded eighth, she and the Liberty entered this series in the underdog role against the team at the top of the bracket.
New York's regular season had been defined by uneven results, but little of that showed in Game 1. The Liberty came out sharply, claimed an early lead and kept the advantage for most of the afternoon against the top-seeded Lynx.
The defensive end did as much deciding as Stewart's offense. Minnesota, whose attack ranked among the league's most productive, was limited to 41.8 percent shooting and managed just 31 points over the final two quarters. Rookie Olivia Miles, an MVP candidate in her first professional season, finished with one assist against four turnovers, and Napheesa Collier could not spark a Lynx response.
The series now shifts to Brooklyn for Game 2 on Tuesday, the first time the Liberty will play at home in the round. A victory there would complete the upset, send New York to the WNBA semifinals and end the season of the league's top seed after only two games. A Minnesota win instead would force a deciding third game in the best-of-three set.
Candace Parker, offering her reaction to the result, suggested the Lynx had lost sight of what Stewart remains capable of doing. Minnesota now has until Tuesday to find an answer, with its season set to be on the line in New York.
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