The Aporia · No. 8-seeded Liberty sweep top-seeded Lynx 87-71 in quarterfinals, advance to WNBA semifinals

No. 8-seeded Liberty sweep top-seeded Lynx 87-71 in quarterfinals, advance to WNBA semifinals

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Feinberg, D. (2026, September 30). No. 8-seeded Liberty sweep top-seeded Lynx 87-71 in quarterfinals, advance to WNBA semifinals. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/no-8-seeded-liberty-sweep-top-seeded-lynx-87-71-in-quarterfinals-advance-to-wnba-semifinals/article_dd942998-e4b8-5142-9851-7376b2c9639f.html

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

Quick Summary

Jonquel Jones led the New York Liberty with 21 points and 13 rebounds as they defeated the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87-71 in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series, advancing to the semifinals in a surprising upset. This is the first time in league history that an eighth seed has eliminated a number one seed since the current format was introduced in 2022. Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu also contributed significantly with 21 and 18 points respectively.

Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The New York Liberty secured a shocking 91-75 victory over the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of their best-of-three WNBA playoff series on Sunday, April 23, 2026. Despite finishing as the eighth seed with a record of 26-18, the Liberty's star player Breanna Stewart led the charge with an impressive performance of 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. The win puts the Liberty one game away from eliminating the previously undefeated Lynx, who must now win Game 2 to avoid being the first top-seeded team in history to fail to advance past the first round since a format change in 2022.

Stewart's clutch play was pivotal, as she scored crucial points and made key defensive plays against her former college teammate Napheesa Collier. The Liberty capitalized on multiple Lynx turnovers and foul trouble, with Collier and All-Star center Natasha Howard each fouling out of the game. Rookie Olivia Miles struggled in her first playoff appearance, scoring just 11 points.

With Game 2 scheduled for Tuesday, April 25, at home, the Liberty now hold a narrow advantage but remain wary of a potential Lynx comeback, as they narrowly escaped a similar situation last year against Phoenix. The Liberty’s defense was instrumental in limiting the Lynx's scoring opportunities and forcing turnovers that kept the game close until the final quarter when New York pulled away. Despite their historic lead, Stewart emphasized the need for continued focus to avoid being caught off guard by Minnesota's resilience.

Written for “Liberty-Lynx WNBA Playoff Matchup” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 13 other(s) covering the same event.

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This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 23 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

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Doug Feinberg

37 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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Also by Doug Feinberg

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 37 articles by Doug Feinberg →

Topics

Liberty Lynx NEW YORK New York Liberty WNBA

Subjects

NEW YORK GPE · 7× Stewart PERSON · 4× Liberty ORG · 3× Lynx ORG · 3× Miles PERSON · 2× WNBA ORG · 2× Breanna Stewart PERSON · 1× Jonquel Jones PERSON · 1× Minnesota Lynx ORG · 1× New York Liberty ORG · 1×

Narrative

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 13 rebounds and the No. 8 seed New York Liberty beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87-71 in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series Tuesday night and advanced to the semifinal round.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30

🔮 Minnesota couldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the way.

2026-09-30 · Toronto Star

No. 8-seeded Liberty sweep top-seeded Lynx 87-71 in quarterfinals, advance to WNBA semifinals · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 0 hedged)

seed → have → round

Breanna Stewart added 21 points and Sabrina Ionescu had 18 to help the Liberty become the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the league’s 30-year history. asserted

Liberty → add → history

The WNBA has undergone a number of different playoff formats. asserted

WNBA → undergo → formats

And in many of the formats, it wasn’t possible for those seeds to match up. asserted

seeds → match → formats

However, in 2022 the league changed to the current format in which the top eight teams play in the quarterfinals. asserted

teams → change → quarterfinals

Now, New York awaits the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series. asserted

York → await → series

The Dream are up 1-0 and play at Washington on Wednesday night. asserted

Dream → play → night

The semifinals begin Sunday. asserted

semifinals → begin → ?

A year after losing in the first round to Phoenix after going up 1-0 in that series, New York was determined not to have that happen again. asserted

that → lose → series

The Liberty were up five points after one quarter and led 40-35 with 2:39 left in the half. asserted

Liberty → lead → half

New York scored nine of the final 11 points in the second quarter to go up 49-37 at the break. asserted

York → score → break

New York was up 52-39 with 6:26 left in the third when Stewart drove to the basket and was hit in the face by Miles as she tried to block the shot. asserted

she → leave → shot

Stewart was down for a minute as the officials reviewed the play and upgraded the play to a Flagrant-1 foul. asserted

officials → review → foul

As Stewart walked off the court, she raised her hands to the sellout crowd of 17,593, who serenaded her with M-V-P! chants. asserted

who → walk → chants

Stewart hit both free throws. asserted

Stewart → hit → throws

Minnesota couldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the way. asserted

Minnesota → get → way

The Lynx’s season ended in disappointment again. asserted

season → end → disappointment

The Lynx had the best regular-season record, but just couldn’t put it together against New York. asserted

Lynx → have → York

On Monday, Cheryl Reeve won the league’s Coach of the Year and Olivia Miles was a unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year. asserted

Miles → win → Year

Miles struggled in both games against New York. asserted

Miles → struggle → York

She had five points, missing seven of her eight shots in 17 minutes, on Tuesday night. asserted

She → have → night

The Liberty’s size and ability to protect the rim bothered the stellar first-year player. asserted

size → protect → player

Courtney Williams scored 18 points and Napheesa Collier added 14 to lead the Lynx. asserted

Collier → score → Lynx