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Liberty are a win away from ousting the top-seeded Lynx
Breanna Stewart produced yet another clutch performance in the WNBA playoffs with 34 points and 12 rebounds for the New York Liberty in a 91-75 victory over the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx to open their best-of-three first-round series on Sunday.
“She’s a walking mismatch,” said sidekick Sabrina Ionescu, who added 13 points. Stewart, the two-time league MVP, added six assists, two steals and two blocks. She shot 11 for 18 from the floor with her friend and former college teammate Napheesa Collier, the 2024 WNBA defensive player of the year, guarding her most of the afternoon.
“We did a solid job in the first half and then we just fouled, fouled, fouled,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We can’t give her 12 free throws. Fouling at the end of the shot clock is just not smart. ” Stewart, who recently helped the U.S. national team win a fifth consecutive World Cup, has the second-highest postseason scoring average by any player in league history.
She was two short of the franchise record for points in a playoff game, as the Liberty went 13 for 25 from three-point range. With centre Jonquel Jones playing through an ankle injury, the Liberty were more than happy to fire away from the outside. Leonie Fiebich went 4 for 5 from deep and had 16 points.
“We knew the shots that we were going to get,” Stewart said. “We had a few days to really practice that and be intentional, and whenever we were able to draw two – kick it to the open person, and shoot it with confidence. ” Nia Brodie led the Lynx with 16 points in 19 minutes off the bench and Kayla McBride had 14 points after missing her first five three-point attempts.
Collier and all-star centre Natasha Howard each fouled out, and star rookie Olivia Miles had a quiet postseason debut with 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting and just one assist.
“I thought we even struggled in the first half even though we had a lead,” Reeve said. “It was a little too much grinding. I think there’s some easier things we can do. ” New York hosts Game 2 on Tuesday with the opportunity to eliminate Minnesota, which must win to bring Game 3 back to Target Center on Thursday.
The Liberty were as tough of an opponent as a team with the league’s best regular season record could face, finishing 26-18 and just two years removed from their first WNBA championship that came at the expense of the Lynx in a dramatic final that went the full five games. The Liberty were ousted in the first round last season by the Phoenix Mercury, who then eliminated the top-seeded Lynx before losing to the Las Vegas Aces for the title.
With the memory of that humbly short trip to the 2025 playoffs still fresh, Stewart warned her teammates not to find satisfaction in the way they seized home-court advantage from Minnesota, reflecting on the overtime win in Phoenix last year that preceded a 26-point loss in New York. “This doesn’t mean relax,” Stewart said.
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