MINNEAPOLIS — The WNBA playoffs technically don’t start until Sept. 27.
asserted
playoffs → start → Sept.
But if you asked Cheryl Reeve and others in the playoff field, they’ll tell you the postseason began after the FIBA Women’s World Cup break.
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postseason → ask → break
Amid a race for seeding, the stakes for these games over the final week of the season carry immense weight.
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stakes → carry → weight
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you → get → things
Liberty know that.
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Liberty → know → that
Teams that are hot from the jump will benefit.
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that → benefit → jump
So what did the Liberty do?
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Liberty → do → what
They marched into a raucous road environment at Target Center on Friday night, battled the league’s best team and walked out with a well-deserved 93-81 win to capture the regular-season series 3-1.
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They → march → series
Whenever the Liberty play the Lynx, the game seems to matter even more.
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game → play → Lynx
The rivalry took on new life after the 2024 WNBA Finals, which the Liberty won in five games, but the Lynx were sour about the officiating down the stretch.
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Lynx → take → stretch
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu always seem to rise to the occasion.
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Stewart → seem → occasion
Entering Friday’s contest, Stewart averaged 26.5 points and Ionescu 21 across the first three meetings this year.
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Ionescu → enter → meetings
The two led the charge Friday.
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two → lead → charge
Stewart finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds less than a week after she led Team USA to a gold-medal finish in Berlin.
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she → finish → Berlin
She moved to ninth on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list on Friday.
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She → move → Friday
Meanwhile, Ionescu, who had been itching to play again after going an unprecedented 0-for-10 from the field in the final game before the break, recorded 17 points and six assists.
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who → itch → points
She also went 3-for-9 from deep.
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She → go → deep
Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
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Jones → add → points
No team led by more than eight points entering the fourth.
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team → lead → fourth
Nia Brodie (née Coffey, who got married over the break) drained a corner 3 to tie the game with 3:45 left in the third.
Marine Johannès then caught fire.
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Johannès → marry → fire
She scored 10 straight points for New York in the final 1:30 of the quarter to ensure New York maintained the edge on the Lynx heading into the fourth.
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York → score → fourth
Things then started to come undone for the Lynx.
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Things → start → Lynx
The crowd disengaged as the Liberty used a 13-4 run to pull ahead by seven points.
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Liberty → disengage → points
A 4-0 run by Minnesota reinvigorated its crowd.
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run → reinvigorate → crowd
The Liberty badgered Rookie of the Year frontrunner Olivia Miles.
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Liberty → badger → Miles
She went 3-for-13 through the first three quarters and at times appeared frustrated with the officiating.
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She → go → officiating
Things started to open up for Miles in the fourth.
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Things → start → fourth
She finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
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She → finish → points
The Liberty used the World Cup break as a chance to push the reset button.
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Liberty → use → button
The non-World Cup participants focused on defense during the league’s two-week pause.
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participants → focus → pause
But coach Chris DeMarco wants the Liberty to do more than just go undefeated down the stretch.
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Liberty → want → stretch
“It’s just about clicking on both ends,” DeMarco said.
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DeMarco → ’ → ends
“Defensively: one voice, communication, make sure we’re on the same page with our schemes, what we’re trying to accomplish.
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we → make → what
And then offensively, when we’ve looked our best, we just have a good rhythm of throwing the ball ahead, having the right space, making plays for each other.
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we → look → other
We talk a lot about when the help side defender comes over, where others are going to be.
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others → talk → lot
So that’s going to be our focus.”
Buckle in, because the final week will be a sprint.
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week → go → ?
Minnesota is trying to maintain its footing at the top of the standings.
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Minnesota → try → standings
Golden State is on the Lynx’s heels and hoping its Cinderella story might end with championship glory.
uncertain
story → hop → glory
Las Vegas wants to remind everyone that the Aces remain the Aces.
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Aces → want → everyone
Indiana, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington and New York are fighting for positioning.
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Indiana → fight → positioning
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
