Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 13 rebounds as the No. 8 Liberty swept the top-seeded Lynx and made WNBA playoff history.
Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 13 rebounds Tuesday at Barclays Center, and the New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 87-71 to finish a two-game sweep of their first-round series.
New York became the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the WNBA's 30-year history.
Under several earlier playoff formats, those two seeds could not meet. The league moved to its current format, with the top eight teams in the first round, in 2022.
Jones played through an ankle injury in Game 1 and scored eight points, the AP reported. On Tuesday, she shot 9-of-14 and grabbed six offensive rebounds. All 14 of New York's second-chance points were hers.
Jones Says Liberty Believe They Can Beat Anyone
Making history had to happen for the Liberty to advance, and there is work left for Jones.
"It feels good, we understand who we are as a team," Jones said. "We're not listening to outside noise, we understand that we can do a lot of great things. We feel like we can play with anybody and beat anybody."
"That's the mindset we have moving forward," Jones continued. "It feels good to make history. It had to be done for us to advance. It's nice to say it's been accomplished, but we have a lot of work to do."
Breanna Stewart added 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists. She shot 6-of-16 from the field and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Sabrina Ionescu had 18 points, four rebounds, and seven assists and made four of her 10 3-point attempts. New York went 13-of-13 at the line.
Liberty Take Control Before Halftime
The Liberty led 26-21 after the first quarter and 40-35 with 2:39 left in the half. They scored nine of the last 11 points of the second quarter to go up 49-37 at halftime.
Minnesota never led, according to the official play-by-play data.
With 6:26 left in the third quarter and New York ahead 52-39, Stewart drove to the basket and was hit in the face by Olivia Miles on a block attempt. Stewart stayed down for about a minute while officials reviewed the play and upgraded it to a Flagrant 1.
Stewart raised her hands to the sellout crowd of 17,593 as she walked off, and the crowd chanted "M-V-P." She made both free throws for a 54-39 lead.
Minnesota did not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
New York outscored Minnesota 44-28 in the paint.
Stewart Delivers Again After Huge Game 1
In Game 1 on Sunday in Minneapolis, Stewart had 34 points and 12 rebounds on 11-of-18 shooting in a 91-75 win.
The 34 points were two short of the Liberty's franchise record for a playoff game. Minnesota led 44-40 at halftime, but New York outscored the Lynx 51-31 after the break.
Stewart has 31 career 20-point playoff games. Only Diana Taurasi, with 44, and A'ja Wilson, with 33, have more.
Lynx Season Ends After 33-Win Regular Season
Courtney Williams led Minnesota with 18 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Napheesa Collier had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Kayla McBride scored 14 and went 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and Nia Brodie had 10 off the bench.
Williams said the Lynx dug their own hole.
"New York is a great basketball team," Williams said. "You dig a hole for yourself and try to get out of it. We wanted to go on a run, but they had answers for everything."
Miles had five points in 17 minutes Tuesday and missed seven of her eight shots, the AP reported.
On Monday, she was the unanimous choice for WNBA Rookie of the Year. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 draft averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists. Her 790 points broke the league's rookie scoring record, the 769 Caitlin Clark scored in 2024.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was named Coach of the Year the same day. It was her fifth, extending her own league record. Minnesota went 33-11, the best record in the league.
Reeve said the loss hurts for Miles.
"As I told her. When was the last time a rookie led the first-place team? Never happened before," Reeve said. "That's what we shared with her. This hurts for her."
Liberty Advance to WNBA Semifinals
The Liberty beat Minnesota in five games in the 2024 Finals. Last season, New York won Game 1 of its first-round series against the Phoenix Mercury in overtime, then lost Game 2 at home by 26 points and was eliminated.
New York finished the regular season 26-18. The Liberty won 93-81 in Minneapolis on Sept. 18.
The Liberty will face the winner of the Atlanta Dream-Washington Mystics series in the best-of-five semifinals. Atlanta leads that series 1-0, and Game 2 is Wednesday in Washington.
The semifinals begin Sunday, with New York opening on the road.
