The 2026 WNBA playoffs are full of surprises.
The No. 8 seed New York Liberty defeated the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, 87-71, in Game 2 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to complete the sweep and clinch the first-round playoff series. With the win, the Liberty became the first No. 8 seed to win a series against a No. 1 seed since the WNBA playoff format changed in 2016.
The No. 6-seeded Indiana Fever, on the other hand, staved off elimination in Game 2 at the Gainbridge Center in Indianapolis.
All-Star guard Caitlin Clark had a double-double before fouling out to lead the Fever to a 99-89 victory in their first-round WNBA playoff series against the Las Vegas Aces. Clark had 27 points and 15 assists in the victory.
Here are the
winners and losers after Game 2 of the two quarterfinals matchups:
Winners
Caitlin Clark's historic night vs. the Aces
Caitlin Clark's fourth playoff game, and first at home, was no less than spectacular. She had a double-double at halftime (14 points and 11 assists). She became the first player in WNBA history to post such a stat line in one half during the playoffs. Clark then built on that first half and finished with a near triple-double. The WNBA star had 27 points on 50% shooting, 15 assists and seven rebounds. She also drained five triples against Las Vegas.
"We were just soft in Game 1, and I think tonight we played a lot tougher. Obviously, the refs called it pretty tight there at the end, but I thought just our aggressiveness overall was really good. It started in the first half," Clark said postgame. "Just really proud of this group. I think it was a mentality change. ... You know, obviously, it's going to take a lot to beat (the Las Vegas Aces), defending champions, and they got championship DNA. So we know we have our hands full in Game 3, but just proud of this group, and happy for the fans."
New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones’ statement game
Game 1 of the first-round series between the Liberty and Lynx belonged to Breanna Stewart. Game 2 belonged to Jonquel Jones.
After being limited to five field-goal attempts in the Liberty’s Game 1 win, Jones exploded for 21 points on Tuesday, shooting 9-of-14 from the field and 1-of-3 from the 3-point line. She rounded out her stat line with 13 rebounds (six offensive), two assists and one block.
“Just watching the film from the last game, I feel like we had a big advantage with our size” Jones said. “I just wanted to make my impact early, whether it's a playcall, whether the shot is going up, I just felt like I had to be in the paint tonight and I had to set the tone for the night. I think I did a really good job starting the game.”
That’s an understatement. Jones scored the Liberty’s first seven points. She even ended the game with an exclamation point, sharing a moment with rapper Meek Mill, who sat courtside in New York.
“I didn’t even say (Meek Mill’s) name first. I went up there and said, ‘Hold up, wait a minute,’” Jones said, quoting lyrics from his hit single “Dreams and Nightmares.”
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu
New York Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco said veteran guard Sabrina Ionesco will be pivotal to the team's playoff run, despite a down year. Ionescu was limited to 31 regular-season games due to injury, averaging 14.6 points per game, the lowest of her seven-year career.
"When somebody gets injured, it's hard to just hop right back in and start where you left off. It's difficult. And we're not in this position without her. She's won us some massive games, some late game comebacks,” DeMarco said on Sunday.
Ionescu turned in her best game of the postseason on Tuesday, doing a little bit of everything with 18 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals.
New York Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco
New York Liberty first-year head coach Chris DeMarco notched his first playoff series win. And it’s a historic one. With the first-round sweep of the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx, the Liberty became the first No. 8 seed to win a series against a No. 1 seed since the WNBA playoff format changed in 2016.
“This was a tough year for us with injuries, with a lot of other stuff going on,” said DeMarco, who was on the hot seat earlier this season. “I feel like we've been trending in the right direction for a while now and it doesn't always show up in the wins and losses, but we were ready to play and we knew we had to be at our best end of September and October and I think we are right now.”
Losers
The Lynx folding with their season was on the line
The Minnesota Lynx had one job, and boy, did they struggle. Minnesota lost six of its last eight matchups dating back to August 24th. It seems unfathomable that a No. 1 seed would not only lose in the playoffs, but get swept by a No. 8 seed. Why? Because it's the first time in league history that a team with the best regular season record didn't win any playoff games.
If people were paying attention, Minnesota has been one rolling ball of yuck defensively for the past four months. In July, Minnesota plummeted to a 109.9 defensive rating, which ranked 10th in the league. In August, for the second straight month, Minnesota's defense ranked 10th (109.9 rating). When September arrived, it improved to 103.9, which is better, but still seventh among all teams. That is not good enough for a No. 1 seed, and it caught up to them.
Making matters worse, Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve seemed to sidestep a question about feeling any pressure Tuesday evening to win against New York. In hindsight, Reeve's answer doesn't look the best. "I’m already in the hall of fame. I feel no pressure," Reeve said. "I feel no pressure. ... I've run my race, and now I just wanna be the best version of myself for players that we have now."
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
The Indiana Fever has built a strong reputation for its homecourt advantage at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. But, the fanbase has been involved in more than one interaction with opposing players in recent years. Aces coach Becky Hammon said that’s a problem the arena needs to address.
Back in 2024, Alyssa Thomas said she’d never experienced racial comments like she had during the Connecticut Sun’s series with the Fever. That same year, a woman mocked the (almost exclusively) Black players with stiletto nails by wearing Edward Scissorhands-like fake tips and a T-shirt with the words “Ban nails.”
Including A’ja Wilson’s confrontation with a fan in Tuesday’s Game 2 loss to the Fever, the Aces have had two fans ejected and then allowed back to their seats during games at the Fever’s arena this season alone.
“I mean, there's rules and procedures. I think there's a certain etiquette that both players and fans need to abide by. Clearly the lines get crossed, and it seems to happen here,” Hammon said. ”I can't speak specifically to what was said or what was done, but I could speak to the character of our players and stuff that they deal with, and the disrespect, whether that's a word or an action, a gesture, should be addressed appropriately. And that's not my job. It's the job of this arena.”
WNBA officials
Even though they were on different sides of win/loss column, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark and Aces coach Becky Hammon both criticized the referees after Tuesday’s game.
“It was a very physical game. When all the players and all the coaches are mad about the physicality, I think ... You know,” Hammon said, attempting to avoid a fine.
Clark was much more blunt in her comments, saying even though they were called for 24 fouls to the Aces’ 19, there was a point in the game where the Aces had shot 34 free throws, and the Fever had 18.
“I thought the refs really struggled tonight. It's really confusing at times,” Clark said. “'It’s so inconsistent that you call an offensive foul on me and then I get hit the same way on the defensive end and it's not foul on me. Like it doesn't make sense. They just have to be better. It's the playoffs. Either call it all the time or don't, but be consistent.”
Aces going back home for Game 3
The Aces had an opportunity to end this series in two games and give themselves some extra rest just like the New York Liberty did.
Even though they had a narrow lead after the first quarter, Aces coach Becky Hammon simply didn’t come out with the right mindset.
The Aces shot 43% from the field compared the Fever shooting 52% from the field on Tuesday. The defending champions also gave up 58 points in the paint while only scoring 26 such points of their own.
“Overall, I thought their sense of urgency was higher than us. That was a team that was playing for their lives and they showed it,” Hammon said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA playoff winners and losers include Caitlin Clark, eliminated Lynx
