WNBA MVP front-runner Breanna Stewart put the Liberty on her back in crunch time Wednesday night in Downtown Brooklyn. Photo by Brandon Todd/New York Liberty
Breanna Stewart’s second 40-point game of the season almost coincided with the Liberty’s worst loss of the campaign.
Until, of course, the front-runner for WNBA Most Valuable Player honors put them back on top after she and her teammates squandered all of a 20-point, second-half lead.
Stewart nailed a game-sealing shot over a pair of defenders with 18.5 seconds to go and added a free throw thereafter, finishing with 43 points and lifting New York past Phoenix, 99-95, Wednesday night in front of 7,151 fans at Downtown’s Barclays Center.
“We have Breanna Stewart. That helps,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello responded when asked how her team survived its near collapse. “She’s a clutch player.”
Already an Eastern Conference Player of the Month and two-time Player of the Week, Stewart scored a franchise-record 45 points in the home opener vs. Indiana here on May 21.
She didn’t quite equal that total, or surpass it, but her big-play ability down the stretch bailed out a Liberty team that held a 73-53 lead six minutes into the third quarter.
By the time former New York forward Michaela Onyenwere snapped a 92-92 tie with a driving layup, the Liberty looked out of sorts and trailed with just under two minutes to play.
Jonquel Jones got it even on a layup off a feed from Sabrina Ionescu on New York’s ensuing trip and Stewart followed with a basket to put the conference-leading Liberty (12-4) back in front, 96-94, with 1:20 to go.
Onyenwere made a free throw to cut the lead to one point with 33 ticks remaining before Stewart took a feed from Courtney Vanderpool and stretched the advantage to three.
“Things don’t always go our way, but we continue to grind it out,” said Stewart, who became the first Liberty player to score at least 40 points in two games during a single season.
Stewart…
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