Add The New York Post on Google MINNEAPOLIS — The WNBA playoffs technically don’t start until Sept. 27.
But if you asked Cheryl Reeve and others in the playoff field, they’ll tell you the postseason began after the FIBA Women’s World Cup break. Amid a race for seeding, the stakes for these games over the final week of the season carry immense weight.
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The Liberty know that. Teams that are hot from the jump will benefit. There’s no time to shake off the rust.
They marched into a raucous road environment at Target Center on Friday night, battled the league’s best team and walked out with a well-deserved 93-81 win to capture the regular-season series 3-1.
Whenever the Liberty play the Lynx, the game seems to matter even more.
The rivalry took on new life after the 2024 WNBA Finals, which the Liberty won in five games, but the Lynx were sour about the officiating down the stretch.
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu always seem to rise to the occasion. Entering Friday’s contest, Stewart averaged 26.5 points and Ionescu 21 across the first three meetings this year.
Stewart finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds less than a week after she led Team USA to a gold-medal finish in Berlin. She moved to ninth on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list on Friday.
Meanwhile, Ionescu, who had been itching to play again after going an unprecedented 0-for-10 from the field in the final game before the break, recorded 17 points and six assists. She also went 3-for-9 from deep.
No team led by more than eight points entering the fourth.
Nia Brodie (née Coffey, who got married over the break) drained a corner 3 to tie the game with 3:45 left in the third.
Marine Johannès then caught fire. She scored 10 straight points for New York in the final 1:30 of the quarter to ensure New York maintained the edge on the Lynx heading into the fourth.
Things then started to come undone for the Lynx. The crowd disengaged as the Liberty used a 13-4 run to pull ahead by seven points.
The Liberty badgered Rookie of the Year frontrunner Olivia Miles. She went 3-for-13 through the first three quarters and at times appeared frustrated with the officiating.
Things started to open up for Miles in the fourth. She finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The Liberty used the World Cup break as a chance to push the reset button. The non-World Cup participants focused on defense during the league’s two-week pause.
But coach Chris DeMarco wants the Liberty to do more than just go undefeated down the stretch.
“It’s just about clicking on both ends,” DeMarco said. “Defensively: one voice, communication, make sure we’re on the same page with our schemes, what we’re trying to accomplish. And then offensively, when we’ve looked our best, we just have a good rhythm of throwing the ball ahead, having the right space, making plays for each other. We talk a lot about when the help side defender comes over, where others are going to be. So that’s going to be our focus.”
Buckle in, because the final week will be a sprint.
Minnesota is trying to maintain its footing at the top of the standings.
Golden State is on the Lynx’s heels and hoping its Cinderella story might end with championship glory.
Las Vegas wants to remind everyone that the Aces remain the Aces.
Indiana, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington and New York are fighting for positioning.
The Liberty, in particular, are trying to climb.
