Jonquel Jones put up 21 points and 13 rebounds on September 29, 2026, and the top seed in the WNBA went home.
The eighth seeded New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 87 to 71 to sweep the first round two games to none. No No. 8 seed had ever eliminated a No. 1 seed in WNBA history.
Breanna Stewart added 21 points. Sabrina Ionescu had 18. Courtney Williams led Minnesota with 18, and Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride had 14 each.
“We’re not listening to outside noise, we understand that we can do a lot of great things,” Jones said.
Minnesota had the best record in the league. The Liberty barely got in. Two games later the bracket looks nothing like the one anybody printed.
“You dig a hole for yourself and try to get out of it,” Courtney Williams said. “They had answers for everything.”
New York now waits on the winner of Atlanta and Washington. The Dream lead that series one game to none, with Game 2 in Washington. Semifinals begin Sunday.
