Breanna Stewart's 34 Points Put the No. 1 Lynx on the Brink

Photo: WNBA.com. Official Breanna Stewart headshot, New York Liberty.

Breanna Stewart put 34 points on the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx in Target Center on Sunday and walked the eighth-seeded New York Liberty out with a 91-75 Game 1 win.

Thirty-four points, 12 rebounds, and six assists is the decision that flipped a best-of-three. Add two steals and two blocks on 11-of-18 from the floor, 2-of-3 from three, and 10-of-12 at the line in 38 minutes at plus-17, and the top seed is already looking at elimination Tuesday in New York.

That foul sheet is the defensive math. Napheesa Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year and Stewart's old UConn teammate, spent most of the afternoon on her hip and still fouled out with 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Natasha Howard fouled out with eight. Cheryl Reeve named the problem after the horn. "You can't give [Stewart] 12 free throws," she said. "So fouling at the end of the shot clock, one second left, it's just not smart." Ten makes on those 12 trips is how a mismatch becomes a 16-point road win. Dig early and Stewart finds the kick. Sit back and she finishes through the gap. Put a second body on her late in the clock and the whistle writes the rest of the possession. Collier and Howard both sat at four fouls in the third quarter while trying to corral the same player. That is when a best-of-three starts leaning toward the lower seed.

The kick-outs paid because New York actually made them. The Liberty hit 13 of 25 threes at 52 percent and 31 of 61 from the field. Leonie Fiebich went 4-for-5 from deep for 16 points and eight rebounds after scoring 10 combined in her final four regular-season games. Sabrina Ionescu added 13 points and called Stewart a walking mismatch, which is the scouting report in one line. Jonquel Jones played through an ankle injury for eight points, so the spacing had to hold without a healthy paint anchor leaning on every catch. Forty-five rebounds to Minnesota's 29 and 25 assists with 10 steals is what a road steal looks like when the help keeps arriving a beat late. The Lynx made 34 percent after halftime. That is a defense that spent the third quarter in foul trouble and never got the ball back clean. Minnesota closed the first half by making four of its last five threes, then handed the momentum back with the foul parade after the break.

Olivia Miles opened her playoff account on the same Sunday the Associated Press handed her unanimous Rookie of the Year. Eleven points on 3-of-12 with one assist is a hard open for a rookie who helped Minnesota to the league's best record. Kayla McBride needed 14 points after missing her first five threes. Nia Brodie led the Lynx with 16 in 19 minutes off the bench, which tells you who was generating offense once Collier and Howard were in foul jail. Minnesota went 2-4 in its last six regular-season games and sat 11th in offensive efficiency over that stretch while turning the ball over on nearly one of five possessions. Game 1 did not invent that slide. It put Stewart in the middle of it with the DPOY on her and both bigs in foul trouble by the third.

Seed math is the next clock. New York finished 26-18, two years removed from beating these same Lynx in a five-game Finals, and one year removed from winning Game 1 of a first-round series in Phoenix before losing Games 2 and 3. Stewart already put that tape on the table. "We did this in Phoenix and then we got smoked on our home court," she said. "This doesn't mean relax." Nineteen turnovers on the same night as a 16-point road win is the part that keeps Tuesday honest. Steal one on the road and the series flips to New York with a closeout chance. Lose the ball 19 more times and Minnesota brings Game 3 back to Target Center on Thursday. Franchise history is ugly on that side of the bracket too: the Lynx are 0-3 all-time in best-of-three series after dropping Game 1, and 0-2 under Reeve in that spot.

Stewart already owns the second-highest postseason scoring average in WNBA history and sat two points short of the Liberty franchise playoff scoring record on a night when A'ja Wilson collected a third straight AP Player of the Year. Two-time MVP. Fresh off helping the U.S. to a fifth straight World Cup. Guarding her was Collier's job for most of the afternoon, and the final line still read 34-12-6 with 12 free-throw trips. ESPN Research notes she became the second player in league history to lead or co-lead her team across the full box in a playoff game, from points through blocks. She is also the fourth with a 30-10-5 playoff line. Those numbers are why an eighth seed can look like the favorite for 48 hours.

Watch the help when she catches on the block with Collier one foul from the bench. Dig from the nail and Fiebich is already set at the arc. Stay home and Stewart gets the mid-post finish or the foul. That is the possession that decides whether Sunday was a warning or a closeout setup. New York hosts Tuesday with a chance to end the No. 1 seed before October gets warm. Minnesota has to solve the late-clock foul, the 52 percent three, and the version of Stewart who posts and kicks until the whistle sends her to the line.

Sources

• Associated Press / Dave Campbell via NBC Sports. Sep 27, 2026. Stewart 34/12/6/2/2; 11/18 FG; Liberty 91-75 at Lynx Game 1; Collier DPOY matchup; Miles 11 on 3/12; McBride 14; Brodie 16 in 19; Jones ankle / 8 points; Fiebich 16 on 4/5 threes; franchise playoff points record note; second-highest postseason scoring average.
• Associated Press via Washington Post. Sep 27, 2026. Same AP Game 1 wire.
• CBS Sports gametracker / box. Sep 27, 2026. Final 91-75; box confirmation.
• ESPN / Myron Medcalf. Sep 28, 2026. Walking mismatch quote (Ionescu); Reeve free-throw / late-clock foul quotes; Stewart Phoenix warning quotes; 19 turnovers; Lynx 0-3 / 0-2 under Reeve after G1 loss in best-of-three; ESPN Research five-category lead and 30-10-5 history; Liberty 52% threes; Lynx 34% after half; foul trouble context.
• Photo: WNBA.com official Breanna Stewart headshot (player ID 1627668).