2026 WNBA playoffs: How the Liberty took Game 1, more key takeaways — SkimNews
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- A'ja Wilson posted 38 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks in the Aces' 102-85 Game 1 win over Indiana, becoming the first player in WNBA history — regular season or postseason — with 35+ points, 15+ rebounds and 75% shooting.
- Breanna Stewart scored 34 points with 12 rebounds as the 8-seeded Liberty upset top-seeded Minnesota 91-75, her third career 30-point playoff double-double, while the Liberty shot 52% from three as a team.
- The Minnesota Lynx face elimination after Napheesa Collier, Natasha Howard and Nia Brodie each picked up four fouls by early in the third quarter, leaving them hesitant defending Stewart on the perimeter.
- Indiana's Caitlin Clark (15), Kelsey Mitchell (12) and Aliyah Boston (18) were held to a combined 10-for-33 from the field as the Aces limited the league's highest-scoring duo to nothing easy.
- The Aces scored 62 first-half points on 64.9% shooting, with Wilson, Chelsea Gray (14 pts, 8 ast) and Jackie Young (21 pts, 10 ast) accounting for all but seven of Las Vegas's second-quarter points.
- AP Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles struggled in her playoff debut, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting for Minnesota after being billed as the Lynx's biggest Game 2 X factor.
Why it matters: The favorites to win the 2026 title — the top-seeded Lynx — are now on the brink of elimination and need Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles to bounce back from a 3-of-12 playoff debut while solving a foul-trouble problem that neutralized Collier and Howard. Meanwhile Wilson's first-ever statline reinforces that any title path still runs through the defending champion Aces, who are now one home win from advancing.
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