Having won the 2026 WNBA Rookie Of The Year award unanimously before Game 2, Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles next task was the team’s hope for keeping the series alive against the New York Liberty. The Lynx faced an uphill task as they tried to win Game 2 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Miles’ comments before the game hint that individual award celebrations will now take a back seat as her team needs her to deliver, now more than ever.
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“Yeah keeping the main thing, the main things. It’s obviously very special to celebrate with my people, but I have a very big task to focus on. But no, I have a great support system, making sure I’m uplifted, but also focused,” Miles said per an X post by USA Sports.
When asked about this being her first playoff experience and what advice the veterans on the team have given her, Miles had a simple message.
“Just enjoy it. All the highs, all the lows. This is what gives the journey meaning. Stay focused. Lead into each other. We can’t separate when times get tough. We got to lead into each other and fix what we know we can.”
Unfortunately for Miles and the Lynx, nothing they did could save their playoff hopes this season.
Game 1 saw the league’s number one side taken by surprise. Miles, who averaged 19.8 PPG in the regular season, was restricted to just 11 points, with woeful 3-of-12 shooting from the field. The game saw Miles committing four fouls and four turnovers in a frustrating night for the Lynx.
It was a similar story for Minnesota’s other starters as well, with Napeesa Collier adding 12 points and Courtney Williams scoring only nine. The Lynx were held to a FG% of just 42%, compared to the Liberty’s 51%.
New York once again relied on the ever-dependable Breanna Stewart to carry them through. Stewart finished the night with a game-high 34 points and 12 rebounds, while also adding six assists. When Stewart is in this kind of form, teammates just focus on complementing her on the court, as Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said on Tuesday, per Myles Ehrlich.
“It’s reading the game. When Stewie’s as efficient as she is, my whole job is to try and get her to keep going, kind of go to the pick-and-roll until they can stop it, and they weren’t able to last the game,” said Ionescu. “So just finding different ways to get our best shot as an offense, and obviously, for me as a point guard, my whole job is to put us in the best position to win.”
Apart from her scoring prowess, Miles also averaged 4.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season. While she led the team in points and assists, her postseason performances have left a lot to be desired. The Lynx hoped that Miles would translate her regular-season form, which saw her break Caitlin Clark’s record for most points in a rookie season, into their next must-win game.
But it was not meant to be.
Liberty Exit Playoffs Following Olivia Miles Postseason Performance
The Liberty have won Game 2, 87-71, eliminating the Minnesota Lynx from playoff contention. The Liberty defense was largely successful in containing Olivia Miles, who scored only five points in the entire game, going for just one of eight from the field and making only one of her four shots from beyond the arc. Miles added two rebounds and an assist, but the Lynx were simply outplayed by the Liberty.
Ionescu was instrumental in giving Liberty the momentum early on, giving glimpses of her best form in a season marred by injuries. Ionescu added 10 points by the third quarter and finished the game with 18 points.
As usual, Breanna Stewart is leading the charge for the Liberty, registering 21 points, and was joined by Jonquel Jones, who also added another 21 points.
In a season where the discussion was about who the leader of this Lynx team was, between Miles and Collier, it was Courtney Williams who emerged as the top scorer for Minnesota on the night, with 18 points.
It was a game of inefficient shooting from the Lynx. The Liberty defense held the Lynx’s offense to a measly 38% while pushing their own to 46%. The Lynx also had an expensive night for turnovers, giving up 16 points from 12 total turnovers. Napheesa Collier scored 14 points on six-of-14 shooting from the field. Kayla McBride was also off her regular-season average of 17.6 PPG, making just four of 13 shots from the field.
The Minnesota Lynx fans will be disappointed with this performance, as expectations were high from the team this season, with last year’s MVP runner-up in Napheesa Collier and this year’s ROTY in Olivia Miles on the team.
However, showing that anything is possible in this league, the eighth-seeded Liberty have ousted the top-seeded Minnesota in the first major upset of this postseason.