Stewart Shines in Game 1 Upset, Golden State "Huskies" Spoil Bueckers’ Playoff Debut
STEWART DELIVERS WITH 36 IN GAME 1 ROAD VICTORY
Breanna Stewart began her ninth WNBA postseason run in spectacular fashion on Sunday. The former Husky star led the eighth-seeded Liberty to a 91-75 road victory over the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA First Round. Stewart scored 34 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line in the road victory. She also added two steals, two blocks, and 12 rebounds to record her 17th double-double of her career. The 34 points are the third most in her WNBA postseason career.
Naphessa Collier posted 12 points with five rebounds and three assists while Dorka Juhasz dished out one assist for the Lynx.
Minnesota scored the game’s first six points, but New York responded with 15 straight of its own points, including a top-of-the-key three-pointer and a transition layup by Stewart, to take a 15-6 lead. Collier made a pair of baskets just over 30 seconds apart to trim the Lynx deficit to 20-14 with 2:54 left in the opening quarter. Just over two minutes later, Stewart faked a handoff near halfcourt, drove to the basket and made the layup through contact for an and-one opportunity. She made the free throw to extend the lead to eight.
In the early part of the second quarter, Collier cut the Liberty lead down to one after knocking down a jumpshot over Jonquel Jones to make it 27-26. Both teams traded tying buckets in the final two minutes of the first half as Juhasz found Nia Brodie for a three-pointer to tie the game at 36. Following two Olivia Miles free throws, Stewart received an entry pass from Sabrina Ionescu, turned around and hit the jumper while being fouled. Stewie missed the free throw but the game was tied up once again at 38.
The Lynx led 44-40 at halftime, but that lead didn't last long as Stewart accounted for the first six points of the third quarter. First, she picked up her second assist of the game on a pass to Pauline Astier, setting up a layup. She then found Ionescu in the corner and got the ball back moments later before converting a layup of her own to tie the game at 44. Nearly two minutes later, she knocked down two free throws to give the Liberty a two-point lead.
Stewart continued her dominance to end the third quarter by tallying the final 11 Liberty points. She picked up a loose ball, zipped it to the right wing for a Leonie Fiebich three-pointer and a seven-point advantage for the visitors. After converting a layup, Stewart recorded assists on back-to-back possessions by finding a cutting Rebkauh Gardner for a layup, then handed it off to Fiebich for her own layup. Stewart capped off the run with two more free throws for a 65-60 Liberty lead after three quarters.
With 6:11 left in the final period, Stewart once again found Fiebich, who drilled a corner three-pointer for a 75-64 lead. The Liberty continued to build their lead throughout the quarter, silencing the home crowd in the process. Stewart delivered the dagger, drilling a three-pointer with less than two seconds remaining on the shot clock to give New York an 82-68 cushion.
Collier only took one shot and did not score in the final quarter, who were outscored 26-15 in the game’s final 10 minutes.
The Liberty win marked the first time an eight-seed won Game 1 on the road since the WNBA moved to a best-of-3 format back in 2022.
Game 2 will be played on Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York inside the Barclays Center at 8:30pm ET. A Liberty victory would secure the first-round upset, while a Lynx win would force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday back in Minnesota.
VALKYRIES EARN FIRST EVER POSTSEASON WIN, SPOIL BUECKER’S PLAYOFF DEBUT
Paige Bueckers, Tiffany Hayes and Gabby Williams all scored more than 20 points on Sunday night as the second-seeded Golden State Valkyries defeated the seventh-seeded Dallas Wings 104-80 in Game 1 of the WNBA First Round. The playoff win was the first of its kind in franchise history. Golden State made the playoffs last season in its first ever season, but were swept by Minnesota in two games.
Hayes scored 21 points in just 19 minutes off the bench. The 14-year veteran shot 7-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. She also added four assists and two steals. Kaityln Chen delivered eight points behind two triples and two assists. Kiah Stokes recorded two points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block. She also did an outstanding job defensively against Jessica Shepard, the Wings’ third-leading scorer (14.5 points per game) and leading rebounder (11.4 rebounds per game), holding her scoreless on 0-of-7 shooting.
Meanwhile, Bueckers scored 21 points and was nearly perfect from the field, shooting 9-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three, and made her only free throw attempt.
Bueckers’ first career postseason shot attempt was a three-pointer, and she drained it over Williams for an early 3-2 Dallas lead. A few minutes later, the Valkyries’ leading scorer got her revenge on Bueckers by converting a layup over Paige, hitting a three-pointer of her own and then making the extra pass to find teammate Cecilia Zandalasini for a triple that tied the game at 10.
Following that bucket, Bueckers connected on a pull-up jumper to regain the Wings lead, 12-10. Over a minute later, Hayes handed it off to Williams for the layup to tie it at 12. Then Hayes intercepted a Bueckers pass, and the Golden State guard finished the play with a layup in transition. Bueckers quickly made up for her mistake by running off a few screens and knocking down a left wing three-pointer for a 17-14 Wings lead.
A few possessions later, Hayes thought about the three, took a jab step and then knocked down the corner triple for a 19-17 Golden State edge. Bueckers continued her hot start by grabbing an offensive rebound and converting a three-point play after getting fouled by Williams on a turnaround jumper. Hayes had the final Husky laugh of the first quarter after driving to the basket for a layup over Bueckers to give the Valkyries a one-point lead.
Hayes’ momentum did not stop between the quarter break as the 2009-2010 back-to-back National Champion accounted for the first 13 Valkyrie points of the second period. She started by knocking down back-to-back three-pointers, followed by two free throws, before picking up her second steal of the night and finding Kayla Thornton for a transition three-pointer, extending Golden State’s lead to 32-24 with 7:23 remaining in the first half.
Then it was Williams’ turn as she scored back-to-back Valkyrie baskets, including a turnaround jumper to give Golden State a 38-26 lead with 4:57 left in the second quarter. Bueckers did her best to try and keep the deficit close after spinning and connecting on a jumper to make it 38-28. But the Valkyries ended the half on a 20-3 run and led 58-31 at halftime.
At the half, Bueckers led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
The first basket of the second half belonged to Bueckers, but Williams responded with her own after completing a finish through contact. Williams made the free throw and the lead was up 28, 61-33. The lead reached 33 points after Hayes drove and found Chen for a triple, making it 83-50.
The series will shift to Dallas where the Wings will look to stay alive on Tuesday. The game will tip-off at 9pm on ESPN. If Golden State wins, the series will be over in two games, but if Dallas comes away with the victory, there will be a winner-take-all Game 3 on Friday back in Golden State.
TRAVIS JONES GETS IN THE BACKFIELD TWICE
The former Husky star disrupted the Dallas Cowboys a few times on Sunday in the Baltimore Ravens thrilling 34-31 victory in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Jones posted three tackles, two for loss, in the three-point win. For the third straight game, Joe Fagnano was inactive but listed as the emergency third quarterback for Baltimore.
Following injuries to a pair of Buffalo Bills wide receivers, DJ Moore and Keon Coleman last week, there was hope that Skyler Bell would make his NFL debut on Sunday. However, both Moore and Coleman were active in the Bills 24-16 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Justin Joly of the Miami Dolphins was active but is still searching for his first career NFL catch.
GEORGE SPRINGER RECEIVES LOVE FROM BLUE JAYS CROWD, UNDECIDED ABOUT 2027
It has been six years since George Springer signed a six-year $150 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. On Sunday, the 37-year-old New Britain, Connecticut, native may have played his final game for Canada and perhaps the final game of his career.
Then after the 5-1 victory against the Cincinnati Reds, Springer hinted at the idea of retirement during an onfield postgame interview.
The former Husky star has suited up for the Blue Jays since the beginning of the 2021 season. In his second year, Springer earned his fourth All-Star Game nomination, hitting .267 with 25 home runs and 67 runs batted in.
However, the season that Blue Jays fans will remember most will be his 2025 season. Springer finished seventh in MVP voting batting a career-high .309 with 32 home runs and 84 runs batted in, both third most in his career in a single season. He played a massive role in helping the team win its third American League pennant in franchise history and come within one victory of its first World Series championship since 1993. Springer’s go-ahead home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, with the Blue Jays trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, will live on in Toronto history forever.
However, after 1,570 career games in 13 MLB seasons, baseball fans will have to wait and see what Springer decides to do next.
KAY PICKS UP VICTORY NUMBER 10
Anthony Kay became the fourth player in UConn-MLB history to win at least 10 games in a single major league season after winning his 10th game of the season on Sunday. The southpaw went five innings, allowing five hits, one earned run with two walks and four strikeouts in the 4-2 Chicago White Sox victory over the Colorado Rockies in the regular season finale for both teams.
Kay joins Rollie Sheldon (won 11 games in 1961 with the New York Yankees and 10 with the Oakland Athletics in 1965), Charles Nagy (won at least 10 games in eight seasons from 1991-1998 with the Cleveland Indians) and Pete Walker (won 10 games with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002).
Prior to the 2026 season, Kay never found his rhythm at the MLB level. The 31st overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft showed flashes of potential in the minor leagues but struggled to find sustained success at the major league level. The former Husky bounced around a few organizations between the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and back to the Mets, but never threw more than 34 innings in an MLB season.
Prior to the 2026 season, Kay last pitched in the MLB with the Mets back in 2023. He pitched in the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan with the Yokohama BayStars in 2024 and 2025, posting a 1.74 ERA over 155 innings last season. That strong year caught the eye of a few MLB teams, including the White Sox, who signed him to a two-year, $12 million deal with a club option for a third season back on December 3rd, 2025.
Now the Stony Brook, New York native has a chance to make an impact on the postseason as the sixth seeded White Sox will travel to the Houston Astros for a three-game Wild Card Series in Houston starting on Tuesday.
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