History is on the line. In WNBA playoff history, an eight seed has never defeated the one seed in a series. In fact, an eight seed had never beaten a one seed in a series before. What changed was that an No. 8 seed defeated a No. 1 seed in a playoff game and moved one win away from winning the series.The New York Liberty used a dominant second half to pull away and beat the league-leading Minnesota Lynx 91-75.
And all of a sudden, the Liberty have a great chance to advance and move on to the semifinals.
Game Info & Broadcast Details
- Matchup: No. 1 Minnesota Lynx (33-11) at No. 8 New York Liberty (26-18)
- Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2026
- Time: 8:30 PM ET (7:30 PM CT)
- Venue: Barclays Center (Brooklyn, NY)
- TV/Streaming: USA Network/CNBC
- Series Format: Best-of-3 (Game 3 at Minnesota if necessary)
Injury Report: Who’s Out?
Liberty injury status: Nobody is out.
Lynx injury status:
- Out – Anastasiia Olairi Kosu (right foot)
Liberty vs. Lynx Game 2 Preview
The Liberty are VERY aware of how meaningless a 1-0 series lead is in the playoffs. Last year, they came home with a chance to advance to the next round on their home floor in front of a sold out Barclays Center crowd. And what happened? They got annihilated by the Phoenix Mercury, sending them on the road to a season-ending loss that permanently changed the franchise.
Elimination games are always full of desperation, and the Liberty are prepared for everything the Lynx can throw at them.
“[Minnesota] is a team that has proven that throughout the season that they’re the best,” Jonquel Jones said. “We don’t expect that it’s just going to be some blowout and it’s going to be easy, that this is going to be a cakewalk. We understand that it’s going to take everybody being locked in, everybody having a very high level of focus and just [playing] team basketball again to be able to close the series.”
We shall see.
Our guy Lucas Kaplan has a great breakdown on what the Liberty did right in Game 1 and some things they can fix tonight. You should check it out!
How can New York help itself? Start with the boards.
Olivia Miles was the unanimous Rookie of the Year, and it was an incredibly well deserved honor. The Spectacle has been one of the best and coolest stories in sports this year as she’s taken the WNBA by storm. However, the playoffs are a different level and the star guard is working it out. The Liberty were able to throw a series of looks and defenders at her and made things challenging for her. The playoffs are all about adjustments, and as Josiah Cohen wrote over at Rise of the Valkyries:
“New York can’t rest on its laurels from Game one: Miles will come back with a vengeance in Game two. Expect more actions from Minnesota to give Miles her preferred ball screen leverage and counter the high pressure (Motion Weak into a screen right for Miles, for example, which they’ve run plenty of this year), and more decisiveness from Miles with her back against the wall. She no longer has room to play like a rookie: she has to play like the Rookie of the Year she is.“
Something that will help the Liberty is maintaining their edge on the glass. New York outrebounded Minnesota by 15 on the night, and by 12 after halftime. Going back to the 2024 Finals, New York’s size has given the Lynx fits and for as tremendous a coach as Cheryl Reeve is, that mismatch is incredibly hard to scheme up against. If Minnesota can’t limit the damage on the boards, their season will be over and New York will be moving on.
Sabrina Ionescu’s shooting numbers weren’t especially flashy, but her defense on Kayla McBride was crucial. With the Liberty making things hard on Miles, K-Mac took on more ballhandling responsibilities and tied her playoff career high with six assists. Of course, McBride is one of the greatest off-ball scorers the WNBA has ever seen so you’d love to maximize her movement and rapid fire shooting if you can. However, if that isn’t available and they need to find a different way to get buckets, McBride is more than willing to adjust her game to suit the needs of a given matchup.
For Ionescu, if she continues to space the floor and limit her turnovers, it gives this Liberty team more room to breathe and forces the Lynx into making tough choices. Players often get a boost from the hometown faithful, and a raucous, jam-packed Barclays Center should give Ionescu a little more juice to put on a show.
Player to Watch: Napheesa Collier
And just like that, Phee has to face a million and one questions. Can she regain her All-WNBA form now? Will she be able to match Breanna Stewart shot-for-shot in crunch time? And, suddenly, will she be on the Lynx in 2027? That’s the spot Collier suddenly finds herself in if the Lynx don’t get this series back to Minneapolis. She’s been very open about wanting to be at her best form come playoff time, and Game 1 was a rough outing for the former three-time All-WNBA First Team star. After halftime, Phee only went 2-6 from the field as the Liberty’s length and timing on defense proved to be a lot to handle on the inside.
Something interesting I thought about last night on the Gotta Get Up podcast was how many minutes will Collier play? In the 2024 Finals, she played 43 (out of 45 minutes), 35, 40, 44 (out of 45) minutes in that series. Thus far in her return this year, she’s only crossed the 35 minute mark twice. In an elimination game, all the rules go out the window as you need to make it to tomorrow first before worrying about anything else. Collier is one of the toughest players in the league, so we know she’ll give it her absolute best tonight. Can the Lynx push her beyond her 2026 limits? The answer will determine if this series heads back to Minneapolis.
How can the Liberty complete the sweep?
Don’t fear: Captain America is here. Breanna Stewart is one of the greatest players to ever set foot on a basketball court and it was all on display Sunday afternoon. Stewie’s 34/2/6/2/2 set the tone for the Liberty and put the Liberty on the right path for this matchup.
If Minnesota can force the ball out of Stewart’s hands without giving up clean looks elsewhere, it has a chance to extend the series. If New York keeps getting Stewart comfortable looks while controlling the glass, the Liberty will have a chance to make history in Brooklyn.
Stewart does so many things well that when she’s rolling, the Liberty can reach their highest level. New York was able to create a lot of space for Stewart to operate, and when you give one of the greats plenty of runway to operate, bad things happen. Over at the amazing Canis Hoopus, Matthew Herren wrote about something the Lynx can do in Game 2 to slow Stewart down:
“To win Game 2, the Lynx must flash their help on Stewie in ways that disrupt her. Right now, the pass is too simple to make, putting the Minnesota defense in a blender until New York gets the shot they want.“
Stewart can diagnose early help, but as a defense, the win is getting the ball out of her hands and forcing someone else to beat you. They already know Stewart can, but can they make someone else on the Liberty step up and take more shots? We’ll see.
From the Vault
One’s in the air for Benjamin “PAC” Satterly.
And keep your one’s in the air for Dennis Haskins
More reading: Canis Hoopus, Zone Coverage, Swish Appeal, Breakaway, SB Nation, Women’s Basketball Roundup, The Local W, New York Daily News, No Cap Space, New York Post, Newsday, The Athletic, NY Liberty Fan TV, Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, Winsidr, The Stomp, The Post Presence, Her Hoop Stats, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, and The IX Basketball.
***
Read about Game 1 from the Minnesota perspective from our friends over at Canis Hoopus.
