This year, the Minnesota Lynx have dominated the New York Liberty, winning two of their three regular-season games and the Commissioner's Cup final.
On Sunday, the Lynx appeared to be on their way to a comfortable victory over New York before being forced to stave off a frantic fourth-quarter rally spearheaded by
Breanna Stewart to defeat the Liberty 88–79. That preserved Minnesota's chances of winning the top playoff seed.
"We're the number two team in the league, and we just played the number one team, so we're very proud of that,
" Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. "We believe in our ability to win every game. "It's a huge win."
The two teams may not meet again until the WNBA Finals, if both make it there.
Bridget Carleton scored 19 points and Napheesa Collier added 18 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota (29-9)
which needs to win its last two games while New York (31-7) loses both to secure the top spot. The Lynx increased their advantage over the Connecticut Sun for the No. 2 spot.
The Lynx entered Sunday with a one-game lead over the Sun, who faced Las Vegas later in the day.
Connecticut and Minnesota play their last regular-season game on Tuesday, with the Sun already holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Stewart put in a tremendous effort in the loss, scoring 38 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. She scored 17 of those points in the fourth quarter.