September 30, 2026 — The eighth-seeded New York Liberty beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87–71 on Tuesday night, completing a two-game sweep and advancing to the WNBA semifinals. The league says New York is the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in its 30-year history, though earlier playoff formats did not always allow that pairing.
Jones and Stewart carry New York
Jonquel Jones finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Breanna Stewart also scored 21 and Sabrina Ionescu added 18, according to the WNBA’s game recap. The Liberty led by five after the first quarter. A nine-to-two closing run in the second lifted them to a 49–37 halftime lead.
Minnesota could not get closer than seven in the second half. Courtney Williams led the Lynx with 18 points, and Napheesa Collier scored 14. Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles had five points in 17 minutes, making one of eight field-goal attempts, the league reported.
What comes next
New York awaits the winner of the Atlanta Dream–Washington Mystics series. Atlanta entered Wednesday’s Game 2 with a 1–0 lead. The WNBA says the semifinal round begins Sunday. The Liberty’s first-round win is notable because it came against the team with the league’s best regular-season record, but it does not determine New York’s next opponent until the other series finishes.
The result also completes a turnaround from New York’s 2025 first-round exit after winning its opener. This time the Liberty followed a 91–75 Game 1 victory with another double-digit margin to close the series.
Source: WNBA game recap, September 30, 2026. AskNovus original recap and playoff context.
Illustrative basketball image: Max Winkler / Unsplash; it does not show this game.
[…] eliminating the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in two games. AskNovus covered the Liberty’s deciding 87-71 victory over Minnesota. The semifinal matches a fourth-seeded Atlanta team that won 13 of its final 15 regular-season […]