MINNEAPOLIS — There was no mistaking the message from Breanna Stewart.
The eighth-seeded Liberty walked into Target Center on Sunday on a mission, and left with a 91-75 win against the top-seeded Lynx, putting them one win from the semifinals while pushing Minnesota’s season to the verge of elimination.
Stewart authored her best playoff game in a Liberty uniform, posting 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
And yet, Stewart wasn’t outwardly celebrating like someone who had helped demoralize the league’s best team.
“This doesn’t mean relax,” Stewart said of going up 1-0 in the best-of-three series. “Minny’s exceptionally talented, and they’ll throw everything at us Tuesday.”
Stewart remembered what happened a year ago. She’s far from the only one.
Last September, the Liberty won Game 1 of their first-round series against the Mercury on the road. They returned home and got hammered 86-60. Two nights later, the Mercury finished the job. The Liberty had the advantage but couldn’t hold on.
They face a similar trap Tuesday, when they host the Lynx for a potential closeout game.
“We understand it’s going to be even harder now that we have them on the ropes,” Jonquel Jones said. “When you have anybody with their backs against the wall, they’re going to fight to try to get out of that.”
After Sunday’s loss, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve took solace in knowing they went a league-best 18-4 on the road during the regular season.
Though Game 1 was a disappointing result for the Lynx, veteran guard Kayla McBride said the locker room’s confidence hadn’t been rocked.
“There’s not one second that I don’t believe in this group,” McBride said. “This 40 minutes wasn’t our best, but we have another opportunity to show up for ourselves, for each other and for this organization and for these fans.
“… I believe in us. I don’t have any doubt inside my body that we can’t go to New York and bring this s–t back.”
The Liberty are one win away from making history as the first team to beat a No. 1 seed in the first round in the WNBA’s current playoff format.
One more win.
It looks both incredibly close and dangerously far away.
“[Minnesota] is a team that has proven that throughout the season that they’re the best,” Jones said. “We don’t expect that it’s just going to be some blowout and it’s going to be easy, that this is going to be a cakewalk. We understand that it’s going to take everybody being locked in, everybody having a very high level of focus and just [playing] team basketball again to be able to close the series.”
Both teams are sure to make adjustments.
The Liberty can’t count on McBride and Courtney Williams having off nights again or Napheesa Collier and Natasha Howard getting into foul trouble.
The Liberty also need to be honest with themselves about their turnover problem.
The Lynx ranked second in the league in points off turnovers, averaging 18 per game. On Sunday, the Liberty committed 21 turnovers, which led to 18 Lynx points.
Advancing in the playoffs — they would play the winner of the Dream-Mystics series — is within reach. Last year’s early exit, though, should serve as a reminder of how quickly that opportunity can vanish.
The Liberty’s mental fortitude and focus will be key to closing out the series.
“Just staying mentally really locked in,” Leonie Fiebich said. “[When] we’re really calm and collected and can just focus on our execution, I think, that’s really, really good. When we gave away games is when we got emotional and … there’s some bad calls and we react to that.”
