Liberty stun Lynx to reach WNBA semi-finals
No 8 seed New York eliminated top-seeded Minnesota 87-71 in Game 2, the first No 8 over No 1 upset in WNBA playoff history.
Jonquel Jones scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the No 8 seed New York Liberty beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87-71 in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series on Tuesday night to reach the semi-finals. Breanna Stewart added 21 points and Sabrina Ionescu had 18, and New York became the first No 8 seed to eliminate a No 1 seed in the league's 30-year history.
"I feel like we had an advantage in our size against them, and I wanted to make my impact early," Jones said after the game. "If a shot is going up I felt like I had to be in the paint and set the tone for the night."
New York led by five after the first quarter and closed the second on a 9-2 run to go up 49-37 at the break. The margin stretched to 52-39 with 6:26 left in the third when Stewart drove to the basket and was struck in the face by Olivia Miles as she tried to block the shot. Officials reviewed the play and upgraded it to a Flagrant-1 foul. Stewart stayed down for a minute, then walked off to "M-V-P" chants from the sellout crowd of 17,593 and made both free throws. Minnesota never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
A year ago the Liberty went up 1-0 on Phoenix in the first round and still lost the series; this time they closed it out after also winning Game 1, 91-75, behind 34 points from Stewart. Minnesota had taken the No 1 seed on the back of a 101-89 win over Connecticut in which Miles broke Caitlin Clark's WNBA rookie scoring record, but the calf injury that had been a concern for Miles going into the playoffs was compounded by the Flagrant-1 in Game 2.
New York now awaits the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series. The Dream lead 1-0 and play at Washington on Wednesday, with the semi-finals starting Sunday.
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