Breanna Stewart had a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds as the New York Liberty clinched the league's best record and the top seed in the WNBA playoffs with an 87-71 victory over the host Washington Mystics on Tuesday night.
The Liberty (32-7) has secured first place in the league with one game remaining in the regular season for the first time since 2015. They have won three consecutive conference titles, including last season, but are still missing their first WNBA championship. The Minnesota Lynx (30-9), who beat the Connecticut Sun 78-75 on Tuesday night, are second in the league standings at the regular season.
Stewart's layup with 8:15 left in the first quarter kept New York in the lead. Her shot was part of a 10-0 run that saw Liberty score 29 points in the first quarter and take early control.
Washington University (13-26) pulled within seven points, 53-46, on a Stephanie Dolson 3-pointer with 5:58 left in the third quarter. Liberty responded with a 19-4 run to extend its lead to 22 points and seal the win.
The loss eliminated Washington from a three-team field with the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky for the final playoff spot. The two teams met on Tuesday night. Washington is now one game behind the winner of that game, with each team having one game remaining in the regular season.
Stewart led a balanced Liberty attack that was high-scoring. New York reserves Renoine Fiebic and Nyara Sabally finished in double figures with 13 points and 12 points, respectively. Starting center Jonquel Jones had 11 points and seven rebounds, and forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton added 11 points.
Washington struggled with rebounding, being outrebounded 45-29 and committing 16 turnovers. Arielle Atkins led the Mystics with 22 points on 8 of 14 shots. She was the only Mystics scorer in double figures as the Mystics shot just 37.7 percent from the field while New York shot 45.3 percent from the field.
