The 8-Seed That Wasn't: Liberty Sweep the Lynx Into History

The 8-seed was never an 8-seed. Liberty 87, Lynx 71. Two games. Done.

History, for the record books: the first No. 8 seed to knock out a No. 1 seed. Game 1 in Minnesota, 91-75. Game 2 at Barclays Center, 87-71. The team with the best regular-season record in the league went home in the first round.

This matchup was only possible because the league changed its playoff format in 2022, scrapping the old single-elimination opening rounds so the top eight teams all open in the quarterfinals. Across the WNBA's 30-year history, a top seed had never been bounced in the first round like this. Say it plainly: this is the biggest seed-upset in league playoff history, full stop.

Jonquel Jones was the engine — 21 points, 13 rebounds, 9-of-14 from the field in the closeout. Breanna Stewart added 21. Sabrina Ionescu had 18 points and 7 assists. The big three scored or assisted on 70 of New York's 87 points. That's not a team effort. That's a takeover.

The closeout was methodical. In front of a sellout crowd of 17,593 at Barclays Center, the Liberty led by five after the first quarter and went on a 9-2 run to close the half for a 49-37 lead at the break. The third quarter's defining moment came at the 6:26 mark, when Miles caught Stewart in the face on a block attempt; officials reviewed the play and upgraded it to a Flagrant-1. Stewart hit both free throws as the crowd rained down 'M-V-P!' chants. Minnesota never got closer than seven the rest of the way, and New York shot a perfect 13-of-13 from the stripe.

None of this is a Cinderella story. This is a champion that spent a season slumming. The Liberty won the first championship in franchise history two years ago, lifted the Commissioner's Cup in June, and roster three of the game's best players. A rocky regular season dropped them to the 8-line, but the pedigree never left — and a year after losing a first-round series to Phoenix after going up 1-0, they played this one like a team with fresh memory of exactly how the movie ends if you let up. First-year head coach Chris DeMarco, coaching his first postseason, out-schemed Cheryl Reeve, the reigning Coach of the Year.

Watch the weak-side help. Watch the paint — 44-28, Liberty. Watch a first-year head coach in Chris DeMarco out-scheme the Coach of the Year. Cheryl Reeve won the award. DeMarco won the series. The players are always ready. The clipboard is the question.

Minnesota's side of it is the cruel part. Olivia Miles — unanimously named Rookie of the Year on Monday — finished Game 2 with five points on 1-of-8 shooting, benched in the third quarter after a flagrant foul. The best regular season in the league, over in six days.

The Liberty remembered last year. Stewart said it before Game 2 — last postseason they stole one on the road and then got smoked at home in the deciding game. 'This doesn't mean relax,' she said. It didn't. They played like a team with fresh in its mind exactly how the movie ends if you let up.

'We know we're not a traditional eight seed,' Ionescu said afterward. 'What's most important is understanding it's a new season and anything can happen in the playoffs and people have counted us out, but we haven't counted ourselves out.' She was right.

Elsewhere, the champs survived. Indiana pushed Las Vegas to the brink — Caitlin Clark's 27 points, 15 assists and 7 rebounds in Game 2, Kelsey Mitchell with 26, Aliyah Boston with 22 — and then the Aces took Game 3 at home, 94-83. Jackie Young had 31. A'ja Wilson had 22 and 9. Three of the last four titles live in that building, and it showed. The Dream swept the Mystics. Tonight the Valkyries and the Wings play Game 3 in the Bay — 9 Eastern, ESPN2. Semifinals start Sunday. The Finals tip October 17.

The stat line: Jonquel Jones — 21 points, 13 rebounds, 9-of-14 from the field. What it doesn't capture: the paint belonged to her all night, the help rotated like a drill, and the 1-seed never once found the rim unguarded.