Betnijah Laney celebrates during the New York Liberty’s Game 2 win over Connecticut Tuesday night at Downtown’s Barclays Center. AP Photo by Mary Altaffer
Breanna Stewart found out before Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals that she had been named Most Valuable Player of the league.
But as her shooting struggles in this best-of-5 series continued, Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney made sure the Liberty would head back to Connecticut with a 1-1 tie.
Ionescu scored 21 points and Laney added 20 Tuesday night as New York pulled even with an 84-77 triumph in front of 10,009 relieved fans at Downtown’s Barclays Center.
“Understanding what’s at stake. We knew we had to win this game,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “Win on our home court. you could see a very connected team today.”
Stewart, who went 7-for-25 from the field in Sunday’s 78-63 loss here, had an even rougher night despite receiving her second MVP and first since 2018, when she was a member of the Seattle Storm.
“Competing in the best women’s basketball league in the world is hard,” she said upon receiving the award.
“I do my best to carry myself with grace and be a great teammate. I’m grateful for my teammates, my coaches, (and) our front office.”
Stewart finished 3-for-13 from the floor, including 1-for-4 from 3-point range, knocking down her first shot from beyond the arc in 12 attempts this series during a critical stretch in the fourth quarter.
Ionescu and Laney had no such problems.
They carried most of the load, especially down the stretch as Ionescu went 5-of-12 from the floor and drained each of her 10 free-throw attempts.
Laney, who only managed three points in Game 1, knocked down 7-of-11 shots and 5-of-7 3s, including a pair of clutch long-range bombs when the Suns (1-1) were crawling back into contention in the…
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