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WNBA scores: Late Liberty surge sinks Lynx 93-81 in a possible playoff preview

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The Associated Press. (2026, September 19). WNBA scores: Late Liberty surge sinks Lynx 93-81 in a possible playoff preview. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/wnba-scores-late-liberty-surge-sinks-lynx-93-81-in-a-possible-playoff-preview/article_a84ab432-928f-5276-a09e-9c2ae8a9e3c5.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-19 · by The Associated Press

Quick Summary

Breanna Stewart led the New York Liberty to a 93-81 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night, scoring 24 points and securing 10 rebounds, moving past Sue Bird into ninth place on the WNBA’s career scoring list with 6,806 points. The late surge by the Liberty secured their victory after Olivia Miles gave the Lynx a brief lead. This game was seen as a potential first-round playoff matchup, with New York improving to sixth place and Minnesota maintaining the top seed despite losing three consecutive games.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The New York Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx 93-81 in a key playoff preview game on Friday night at Target Center. Despite the Lynx holding the top seed with a record of 31-10, they suffered their third straight loss, while the Liberty improved to sixth place with a record of 25-16. Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 24 points and 10 rebounds, moving past Sue Bird into ninth on the WNBA’s career scoring list. The Liberty outscored the Lynx 23-12 in the final quarter to secure the win after Olivia Miles had given Minnesota a brief lead earlier in the game.

Written for “Liberty Beats Lynx” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Liberty Beats Lynx
Sports · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different games involving Breanna Stewart, with distinct opponents and scores.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses Breanna Stewart's confidence after winning MVP at the FIBA World Cup, while Article B reports on a WNBA game where Stewart played but does not describe the same pre-game or off-court event.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 41 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 33 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different games between two WNBA teams on separate dates.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different games and incidents involving Breanna Stewart; Article A covers a win for New York Liberty against Minnesota Lynx, while Article B discusses a loss to an unspecified team with a technical foul incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes the game itself, while Article B discusses the broader context of the team's upcoming games and regular season schedule.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
29
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 29 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 10757 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

The Associated Press
1660 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Rybakina said she could not play because of an undisclosed injury.
🔮 ___ This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by The Associated Press
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 1660 articles by The Associated Press →

Topics

Liberty Lynx Minnesota TORONTO WNBA

Subjects

TORONTO GPE · 5× WNBA ORG · 5× Minnesota GPE · 3× Mitchell PERSON · 3× Stewart PERSON · 3× VALKYRIES ORG · 3× Clark PERSON · 2× Liberty ORG · 2× Lynx ORG · 2× TEMPO GPE · 2×

Narrative

FEVER 103, TEMPO 85 TORONTO (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 33 points to set a WNBA season scoring record, Caitlin Clark had 28 points and matched a season high with 14 assists and Indiana beat Toronto for its eighth win in 10 games. With a 3-pointer in the third quarter, Mitchell eclipsed the 1,021 points A’ja Wilson scored for Las Vegas in 2024.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 Kayla McBride scored 16, Napheesa Collier 14, Courtney Williams 12 and Natasha Williams 11.

Claims (29 extracted, 0 hedged)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jonquel Jones had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the New York Liberty beat the slumping Minnesota Lynx 93-81 on Friday night in a possible first-round playoff matchup. asserted
Liberty → score → matchup
Stewart moved past Sue Bird and into ninth place on the WNBA’s career scoring list with 6,806 points. asserted
Stewart → move → points
She’s five points behind Cappie Pondexter for eighth place. asserted
She → ’ → place
Stewart also had four assists and three steals. asserted
Stewart → have → assists
Sabrina Ionescu scored 17 points, with six assists and three steals, Pauline Astier scored 14, and reserve Marine Johannes 13. asserted
Johannes → score → 14
Olivia Miles scored 20 points to lead Minnesota, losers of three straight. asserted
Miles → score → three
Kayla McBride scored 16, Napheesa Collier 14, Courtney Williams 12 and Natasha Williams 11. asserted
Williams → score → 16
Miles converted a three-point play for a 69-67 Lynx lead with 8:18 left. asserted
Miles → convert → 8:18
Stewart responded with a 3-pointer on New York’s following possession and the Liberty never trailed again. asserted
Liberty → respond → possession
New York outscored the Lynx 23-12 the rest of the way. asserted
York → outscore → way
Despite the loss, Minnesota retained the WNBA’s top seed while the Liberty moved up to sixth. asserted
Liberty → retain → sixth
FEVER 103, TEMPO 85 TORONTO (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 33 points to set a WNBA season scoring record, Caitlin Clark had 28 points and matched a season high with 14 assists and Indiana beat Toronto for its eighth win in 10 games. With a 3-pointer in the third quarter, Mitchell eclipsed the 1,021 points A’ja Wilson scored for Las Vegas in 2024. asserted
Wilson → score → 2024
Mitchell has 1,034 points this season. asserted
Mitchell → have → points
Mitchell also scored at least 20 points for the 25th consecutive game, extending her WNBA record. asserted
Mitchell → score → record
She shot 12 for 17 and went 7 for 11 from 3-point range. asserted
She → shoot → range
Clark shot 7 for 15 and went 2 for 8 from distance for her 14th double-double in her first game since helping the U.S. win the women’s FIBA World Cup in Germany. asserted
U.S. → shoot → Germany
She made 12 free throws without a miss. asserted
She → make → miss
The game was the first for both teams following a nearly three-week World Cup break. asserted
game → follow → break
Clark also had 14 assists in a home win over Toronto on June 16. asserted
Clark → have → June
Toronto’s Laura Juskaite scored 22 points and Kiki Rice had 18. asserted
Rice → score → 18
Isabelle Harrison and Temi Fagbenle each scored 16 points but the Tempo lost their fifth straight. asserted
Tempo → score → straight
Toronto started its inaugural season 9-9 but has gone 2-21 since. asserted
Toronto → start → season
Kaitlyn Chen scored 17 points off the bench with a career-high five 3-pointers, Laeticia Amihere also scored 17, and Golden State returned from the break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup to beat Portland for its fifth straight victory. asserted
State → score → victory
Tiffany Hayes had 13 points and seven assists, while Kayla Thornton contributed 13 points and four rebounds. asserted
Thornton → have → points
Veronica Burton made a franchise-record six steals as the Valkyries played without star Gabby Williams and top reserve Janelle Salaun, both of whom played for the French team that lost to the U.S. 97-79 in the World Cup final on Sunday. asserted
that → make → Sunday
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase served as an assistant for the Americans, and she is being cautious with her team’s health ahead of the WNBA playoffs. asserted
she → serve → playoffs
Frieda Buhner scored 14 points and Nyadiew Puoch had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Fire. asserted
Puoch → score → Fire
Portland guard Carla Leite, also on the French team, started and missed her initial four shots before finishing with 12 points and six assists. asserted
Leite → start → points
The Fire lost their third straight game and sixth out of their last seven. asserted
Fire → lose → seven
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