Jonquel Jones scored 21 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds as the host New York Liberty made history by eliminating the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx with an 87-71 victory on Tuesday night.
New York, which won the best-of-three first-round series 2-0, also got 21 points, five rebounds and four assists from Breanna Stewart. Sabrina Ionescu added 18 points and a game-high seven assists.
Since the WNBA went to its current playoff format in 2022, this is the first time that the No. 8 seed knocked out the No. 1 seed.
The Liberty will oppose either the fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream or the fifth-seeded Washington Mystics in the WNBA semifinals.
Minnesota, which also lost to New York in the 2024 WNBA Finals, was led by Courtney Williams, who had 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Napheesa Collier contributed 14 points and seven rebounds, and Kayla McBride put up 14 points.
Lynx point guard Olivia Miles, the league’s unanimous selection as Rookie of the Year, was held to five points and one assist in 17 minutes. She shot 1-for-7 from the floor and was benched for most of the second half.
During the regular season, Miles averaged 19.8 points and 6.0 assists.
New York, which never trailed, led early by as many as 10 points and closed the first quarter with a 26-21 advantage. Jones dominated early, scoring the Liberty’s first seven points.
The hosts extended their lead to 49-37 entering halftime. In the first half, New York had advantages in paint points (28-18), fastbreak points (13-6), rebounds (20-14) and 3-pointers made (5-3).
Jones led all scorers with 14 points before the break. Williams topped Minnesota with 10.
With 6:26 left in the third, Miles fouled Stewart in the face. Miles was issued a flagrant-1 foul, giving New York two free throws and the ball. Stewart, red-faced after the blow, made both free throws for a 54-49 lead, New York’s largest of the game to that point.
Minnesota subsequently cut the deficit to seven points, but New York closed out the third leading 68-56.
New York led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter.
For the game, the Liberty wound up on top in paint points (44-28), fastbreak points (13-11), rebounds (36-29) and made 3-pointers (10-8).
–Field Level Media
