See more of our coverage in your search results.
The hugs and handshake lines started before the final horn officially sounded.
Many had doubted what the Liberty would be capable of doing this postseason. But New York never questioned its potential.
The Liberty set out to make history.
On Tuesday, New York delivered a performance that those inside Barclays Center won’t soon forget.
The Liberty earned a historic 87-71 win to sweep the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
New York became the first No. 8 seed to send the No. 1 team home. Doing it against one of the franchise’s biggest rivals makes the accomplishment all the sweeter.
A year after getting spanked in front of their home crowd in Game 2 only to be eliminated on the road the next game, the Liberty avoided making the same disastrous mistake.
They took care of business and played arguably their best game of the season to advance to the semifinals for the third time in four years.
It was obvious from the first quarter that the Liberty weren’t going to go down without a fight. There was the attention to detail and communication on defense. The assertiveness on offense. The relentless pursuit for extra possessions.
Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu set the tone. Everyone followed suit.
New York never trailed.
Jones scored the Liberty’s first seven points and finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Ionescu made four of her 10 shots from beyond the arc and recorded 18 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
Stewart, the team’s steady captain, played the entire 40 minutes and had 21 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Earlier this month, Ionescu knew the Liberty had yet to play their best.
Entering the final week of the season, Ionescu knew there was another level left to unlock.
New York scratched the surface of being a great team in spurts this season. But injuries, stretches of inconsistency and an international interruption hampered the Liberty from looking like a real threat to win this year’s title.
The Liberty knew they had the talent. Ionescu said the team knew “who we are when we’re at our best.”
But New York didn’t consistently prove it.
Covering the Liberty like never before
Sign up for Madeline Kenney’s Inside the Liberty, a weekly Sports+ newsletter.
Thank you
For most of the season, first-year coach Chris DeMarco talked about building toward the postseason. Peaking too soon is a fear some teams have. The Liberty felt like they did that a year ago. There’s an argument to be made that the Lynx did it this time.
The Liberty opened the season with a 13-12 record. At times, they looked disjointed and out of sorts.
Very few pundits picked the Liberty to beat the Lynx in the first round.
But New York happily proved them all wrong.
The Liberty seem to be putting it all together at the right time.
They’ll play the winner of the Atlanta Dream-Washington Mystics series, which the Dream lead 1-0.
