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Lynx on Brink After Game 1 Upset

9:05 PM ETConfirmed

Sports Desk

In Short: The Minnesota Lynx face elimination after a stunning Game 1 loss to the New York Liberty in the 2026 WNBA playoffs.

The 2026 WNBA playoffs began with a quadruple-header of Game 1s on Sunday, and the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx were stunned by the eighth-seeded New York Liberty in a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals.

In the afternoon, the Lynx were defeated 91-75, a result that put them on the brink of elimination in the best-of-three series.

The Liberty's Breanna Stewart led the way with a 34-point, 12-rebound performance, her third career 30-point playoff double-double.

The Lynx struggled offensively, with rookie Olivia Miles, who was named the unanimous 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year, scoring just 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve acknowledged that the team's offensive struggles were self-inflicted, noting that missed shots led to the Liberty getting out ahead.

Reeve emphasized the need for Napheesa Collier to play more assertively and move more in the upcoming game.

The series now shifts to New York for an elimination game, with the Liberty on the verge of becoming the first eighth seed to take down a top overall seed.

The Lynx have been a strong road team this season, with a 17-4 record as visitors, but they will need to improve their performance to avoid being on the wrong side of history.

The playoffs feature exciting matchups, including the potential for a final between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and the Golden State Valkyries' home-court advantage.

The Valkyries, in their second season, have made the playoffs each year and are now seen as a serious contender.

The playoffs will continue with the higher seed hosting the first and third games, while the lower seed hosts the second game.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• In the afternoon, the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx were stunned by the No. 8 New York Liberty in a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals, then the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces began their title defense by crushing the No. 6 Indiana Fever.
• Multiple regular-season records fell this year, from Caitlin Clark becoming the first player in WNBA history with a 40-point, 10-assist game, to Angel Reese breaking the single-game rebounding record with 26 to Kelsey Mitchell passing A'ja Wilson's single-season points record.
• It was all too easy for Stewart, who paced her team from the start and served a dagger that essentially secured Game 1.
• The Liberty made their intentions clear at the end of the regular season: steal a game against the No.
• The three-game series now shifts to New York for an elimination game with the Liberty on the verge of being the first WNBA eighth seed to take down a top overall seed.
• The feat looked too tall to climb, but on Sunday, Chris DeMarco had Breanna Stewart — and Cheryl Reeve’s Lynx team didn’t.
• WIth the shot clock winding down, Stewart curled around the three-point line, received a pass from Sabrina Ionesu and rose above Lynx star Napheesa Collier for a fadeway jumper.

What's still developing

• And while the games weren't necessarily nail-biters, the performances were once again revelatory.
• The high seeds will host the decider game, if necessary.
• She was looking for chances to impact the game rather than taking control -- which is how she'd helped keep the Lynx at the top of the regular-season standings while Collier recovered from injury -- and ultimately finished with 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
• If Miles isn't the Miles she has been all season in her phenomenal rookie campaign, the Lynx could go home much earlier than anyone anticipated. -- Myron Medcalf How the game was won : The A'ja Wilson takeover set the tone on both ends of the floor from the start, and the rest of the Aces followed along.
• ESPN experts Myron Medcalf, Kareem Copeland, Michael Voepel and Kendra Andrews dissect how each game was won as well as keys for the rest of the first round of the playoffs and beyond.
• Nine days after beating the Lynx by 12 points in Minneapolis, the Liberty did it again, more dominantly.
• She never took her foot off the gas, overwhelming the Lynx on straight line drives that accounted for easy finishes and shots at the free throw line.
• And after a 91-75 loss to the Liberty in Game 1 of this years best-of-three first round, the Lynx are heading to Brooklyn with their season on the line once again.
• When the Lynx were winning four titles in seven years through the 2010s, “there were probably, maybe two teams, at the most, that you felt like had a legitimate chance to win a championship,” Reeve said before Sunday’s game.
• Analytically, the gap between the Lynx (as of late) and the Liberty is narrower than seeding suggests.
• “We’ve kind of harped on it,” Stewart said postgame on Sunday.
• From homemade gear and Target Center rituals to the Electric Slide and StudBudz, Lynx fans share what every newcomer should know as Minnesota begins another playoff run.

Sources

• CBS Sportslink
• New York Daily Newslink
• Saratogianlink
• Espnlink
• Warpbeatlink
• Swishappeallink
• Startribunelink
• Wnbalink
• Espnlink
• Espnlink
• WarpBeat — background on Lynx on Brink After Game 1 Upset link
• WarpBeat — background on Lynx on Brink of Elimination After Game 1 Upset link
• FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul — video link