Liberty become first-ever eighth seed to take down No. 1 seed in WNBA postseason after dominating Lynx in decisive Game 2
· Yahoo Sports
The Liberty played like a team that refused to get back on a flight to Minnesota in Tuesday’s Game 2 at Barclays Center.
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Their intention showed from the start with an early 9-1 start that forced Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve to call timeout just three minutes into the game.
They rarely settled on offensive and outhustled Lynx bigs in the paint for second-chance opportunities.
And with Reeve well aware of the comfortability Breanna Stewart felt in Sunday’s dominant Game 1, another Liberty player needed to step up to close out the series with Minnesota having all eyes on the two-time MVP.
The co-stars did just that, as Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones helped their team to a wire-to-wire 87-71 Game 2 victory that sent Liberty into the semifinal round.
The series win makes the Liberty the first-ever eighth seed to take down a No. 1 overall seed in the postseason. And it books them a second-round series against either No. 4 seed Atlanta Dream and No. 5 seed Washington Mystics.
The Mystics, who are down 1-0 in that series, host Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Even with a slight third-quarter push that cut the Liberty’s lead to single digits — the Lynx trailed by double digits for most of the night — to save the season, the Lynx didn’t do enough to force a do-or-die Game 3 they would’ve hosted.
Rookie sensation Olivia Miles (five points) never shook the jitters of being in her first-ever WNBA playoffs, star Napheesa Collier failed to have a 2026 playoff game of her caliber and sharpshooter Kayla McBride misfired on timely shots (4-of-13 from the field) she’s been known to make in her career.
Too many mistakes for a Lynx squad in a way-too-short three-game series that doesn’t allow for too many errors.
On the other hand, the Liberty moved on with Jones logging 21 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and a block. Her traditional three-point play with 6:08 remaining essentially iced the game and stretched the Liberty’s lead to 19. It also caused the Barclays Center crowd to erupt as it is known to do in postseason games in Brooklyn’s Big 3 era.
Jones’ dominance on the glass contributed to New York advantage in rebounds, 36-29
But some of the loudest cheers came on Ionescu’s third-quarter three-pointers that kept Minnesota from creeping back into the game.
The first came at the 1:44 mark on a 26-footer assisted by Stewart, then the next was made a foot closer with 14.8 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Ionescu finished Game 2 with 18 points, seven assists and two steals.
For Ionescu, who shot 7-of-15 from the field, it was her most impactful game in weeks after struggling to finish the 2026 regular season.
And it came at the right time with the Liberty looking to avoid a repeat of last year’s disappointing first-round exit, which came with a Game 2 letdown after stealing an opening game on the road against the Phoenix Mercury.
The Liberty eventually lost that series in three games.
On Tuesday night, they brought out the brooms and took care of business.