The Liberty pressured Olivia Miles full court and held the Lynx rookie to 5-of-18 shooting as Minnesota lost its third straight game.
The New York Liberty guarded Olivia Miles the full length of the floor Friday night at Target Center, and the Minnesota Lynx rookie shot 5-of-18 from the field.
New York won 93-81. Minnesota, which still owns the WNBA's best record, has lost three straight games for the first time this season.
The skid started with an 80-66 home loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Aug. 24 and continued with an 89-81 loss at the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 30.
Friday was the Lynx's first game since the FIBA Women's World Cup break.
Liberty Pressure Olivia Miles Full Court
Miles, the second overall pick in April's draft, has three regular-season games left before her first WNBA playoffs and is confident she will figure it out with more reps. Her postgame availability was posted to X by Minnesota beat reporter Andrew Dukowitz.
"This is my first time doing this," Miles said. "Trying to understand, obviously, they were calling it one way at the beginning of the season, and now it's like a free-for-all, I guess, and trying to adjust back. I have to do so a little bit more quickly. But it's frustrating at times when you feel like you're getting hounded everywhere, and pushed off your spots, and thrown on the ground and stuff."
"But ultimately, we can't rely on the refs to win us the game," Miles continued. "You gotta go strong, you gotta finish your contact. I thought I missed a few bunnies, and I'm internalizing that a lot."
Miles took 12 of Minnesota's 20 free-throw attempts and made 10 of them. The rest of her 20 points came on five 2-point baskets. She went 0-of-3 from 3-point range.
She added eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 34 minutes, leading Minnesota in points, rebounds, and assists. She also had five of the Lynx's 19 turnovers. Napheesa Collier had six.
New York scored 21 points off those turnovers. Minnesota scored 19 off the Liberty's 16.
Breanna Stewart Explains New York's Approach
Breanna Stewart said Miles still reached the rim and the free-throw line against New York's pressure.
"Listen: You can ask probably any guard in the league, they don't want to be picked up 94 feet," Stewart said. "And the fact that we rotated between [three players] to just be in her s*** was what we wanted to do. She still got to the rim, she still got to the free throw line, but not as efficient as she would have liked."
Stewart finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The 24 points moved her past Sue Bird into ninth place on the WNBA's career scoring list with 6,806. Bird finished her career with 6,803. Stewart is five points behind Cappie Pondexter for eighth.
Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu scored 17 with six assists, Pauline Astier scored 14, and Marine Johannès had 13 off the bench on 4-of-8 3-point shooting.
Liberty Pull Away in Fourth Quarter
Minnesota led 69-67 with 8:18 left after Miles converted a three-point play. Stewart answered with a 3-pointer on New York's next possession, and the Liberty never trailed again.
They outscored the Lynx 23-12 the rest of the way and took the fourth quarter 28-19.
New York made 13 of its 29 3-point attempts. Minnesota went 6-of-22 from deep and 17-of-20 at the line, while the Liberty shot 12-of-16 on free throws.
Kayla McBride scored 16 for Minnesota. Collier had 14 on 7-of-11 shooting, Courtney Williams scored 12, and Natasha Howard added 11.
The Liberty have won two of three meetings this season. New York won 99-86 at home July 3, and the Lynx won 90-85 at Target Center on July 11.
Lynx Hold One-Game Lead for Top Seed
At 31-10, Minnesota holds a one-game lead over Golden State (30-11) for the league's best record with three games left.
New York is 25-16 and plays at the Toronto Tempo on Sunday.
The Lynx play at the Connecticut Sun, who will become the Houston Comets, on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell set the WNBA single-season scoring record Friday in a win over Toronto. Minnesota visits the Fever on Tuesday and hosts them Thursday in the regular-season finale.
