The New York Liberty just made WNBA history.

The No. 8 seed Liberty defeated the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87-71 in Game 2 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, completing a 2-0 sweep of the first-round series. With the win, New York became the first No. 8 seed to win a series against a No. 1 seed since the WNBA playoff format changed in 2016.

The series was a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals, where the Liberty beat Minnesota to capture the franchise’s first championship. That history may have seemed distant after the Liberty limped into the postseason as the final seed — but it turns out it still meant something.

After pulling off the upset in Game 1 to open the quadruple-header on Sunday, New York left nothing to chance at home. The Liberty controlled Game 2 from start to finish, turning the league’s best regular-season team into a first-round footnote.

Minnesota’s exit is stunning on paper. The Lynx were the No. 1 seed, a team built around superstar Napheesa Collier and constructed to win now. Instead, they ran into a Liberty squad playing its best basketball of the season at exactly the right time, with the championship DNA of 2024 still on the roster.

The result also reshapes the rest of the bracket. The Liberty now advance to the semifinals, where they will face the Atlanta Dream — Angel Reese’s squad, fresh off its own 2-0 sweep of the Washington Mystics. Two of the league’s most star-powered teams, one spot in the Finals at stake.

For Minnesota, it’s a brutal end to a season that once promised a title run. For New York, it’s a reminder of the oldest playoff truth in basketball: seeding is a receipt, not a verdict.

Sources: USA Today (Sep 28 and Sep 30, 2026) playoff coverage. Stats as reported for Sep 29, 2026.