While a clean sweep in the very first round of the playoffs is not how the Minnesota Lynx expected to end their otherwise incredible 2026 season run, this is not something that bothered four-time championship-winning coach Cheryl Reeve. Reeve, who led the Lynx to the very top of the league before the postseason, refused to dwell on the upset when asked about the Lynx’s drastic fall from grace in this year’s playoffs.
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The Lynx entered the postseason with the best record in the WNBA – 33-11 – securing the top seed in the 2026 playoffs. For the opening round, they were paired opposite the eighth-seeded New York Liberty, who had the worst record entering the postseason – 26-18. As the Liberty won two consecutive games against the Lynx, Cheryl Reeve and Co. became the first No. 1 seed in WNBA history to lose a first-round series to the No. 8 seed. But for Reeve, this was not something that should concern her team, as she revealed in the post-game press conference.
“Yeah, it sucks. How do you assess it? Yeah, it sucks. We’re not going to focus on s*** like that. It is what it is. Congratulations to New York. They beat us, and we wish them well the rest of the playoffs,” she said per the video posted to YouTube.
“There wasn’t an expectation internally that, ‘Hey, championship or bust. I understand that the Lynx franchise, because we’ve been successful and we’ve won championships, that everyone thinks it’s championship or bust. I have not felt like we’ve had that team over these three years,” she added.
Game 1 between the Lynx and the Liberty saw New York face a roaring Lynx crowd at Target Center as Minnesota had captured the home-court advantage. The fans came in hopes of a dominant victory for the Lynx, but were in for a shock as the Liberty, led by Breanna Stewart, handed Minnesota a 91-75 defeat.
The charge was led by Stewart, who dropped a staggering game-high 34 points and 12 rebounds, while also adding six assists and two steals. She was backed by Leonie Fiebich, who added 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Liberty veteran Sabrina Ionescu dropped 13 points and six assists. The Liberty offense shot an effective 51% from the field, while their defense held the usually high-scoring Lynx to a measly 42%.
Rookie sensation Olivia Miles could only score 11 points, making 3-of-12 shots from the field. Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride combined for 26 points in one of the Lynx’s worst scoring performances this season.
Cheryl Reeve, who only recently won her fifth WNBA Coach of the Year award, had led the Lynx to the 3rd highest offensive rating (112.1) and the fourth highest defensive rating (103.5) in the league in the regular season. The Liberty were below them on both stats, but nothing could stop them in Game 2.
In Game 2, the Liberty held the home-court advantage at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and they used that advantage to hand the Lynx their second consecutive loss, clinching round one with an 87-71 win. The Liberty defense held the Lynx’s primary scoring engine, Olivia Miles, to just five points, with Courtney Williams scoring a team-high of 18 points and eight rebounds. Collier and McBride combined for 24 points, nearly identical to their Game 1 performance.
Prior to the postseason, the Liberty already held a 2-1 lead over the Lynx in the regular season, but across those three games, the Lynx averaged 85.6 points. But acorss the two playoff games, they were able to average only 73 points.
Losing after putting together one of their best seasons yet must be devastating for the Minnesota Lynx. But even their franchise star Olivia Miles did not allow the loss to ruin the incredible rookie year she’s had. Miles opened up about the loss after the game, per an X post by ClutchPoints’ Kris Pursiainen.
“Losing games is a part of it. Having games like I had is a part of it…it’s beautiful, as much as it hurts, learning this way…it’s a part of the game, right? Everyone wants to win all the time, but that’s not how it works…I have to remind myself that I’m a rookie, I’m not a 10-year vet. I have to remind myself I don’t know what I’m doing…now I do. Now, there’s no excuse…I’m ready to get it back,” said the young star.
Miles is coming off a legendary season, which saw her be voted the Unanimous Rookie of the Year. The former Notre Dame standout averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and six assists throughout the 40 games she played this season.
As the Lynx’s hopes end for this season, Olivia Miles and Cheryl Reeve will both look forward to 2027, when they will once again hope to make it to the playoffs and try to clinch the title. The New York Liberty now move on to the semifinals.