Breanna Stewart goes supernova in 98-88 New York Liberty win over Los Angeles Sparks
Photo by Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images
Breanna Stewart, one of the most decorated basketball players we’ve ever know, didn’t play the greatest game of her career Saturday...but it might’ve been her best. Obviously, the bulk of this recap was going to be about Breanna Stewart when I started writing it at intermission, following a half in which she scored 24 points to go along with five assists and five blocks.
It was peak Stewie during a season that hasn’t quite been that, in which the reigning MVP has seen her jumper come and go, leading to one of the least efficient scoring campaigns of her career thus far. But when Breanna Stewart is struggling, all it means is that the floodgates are about to burst, instead of already being wide open.
And in the first half of Saturday afternoon’s contest against the Los Angeles Sparks, the floodgates burst. One of those shot-making stretches — 8-of-10, 2-of-3 from deep — led to one of those play-making stretches, all coinciding with one of those defensive stretches, which leads to a three-minute highlight-tape for 20 minutes of hoop...
Breanna Stewart put up a MONSTER 1st half performance vs. the LA Sparks ⬇️24 PTS5 AST5 BLK3 STL8-10 FG3-5 3PTShe becomes the first player in WNBA History to record 20+ PTS, 5+ AST, & 5+ BLK in a half! pic.twitter.com/Cw2J0AElco— WNBA (@WNBA) June 22, 2024
“I felt like we were letting them off the hook a little bit, and I wanted to make sure i demanded the ball in the post a bit,” said Stewart of her 19-point second quarter.
But Stewie Day at the Barclays didn’t reach true basketball euphoria until her sixth block, which elicited the loudest crowd pop of the day that then morphed into a heartfelt standing ovation.
With the Liberty up 75-55, Leonie Fiebich turned the ball over on the right side of the court, above the arc, igniting an L.A. fast break. Breanna Stewart took off from the left elbow with a hustle that youth basketball coaches will be pointing out in their retweets, leaving out that the emphatic rejection Stewie makes at the end of the play, nearly deflating the ball, is only possible if you’re a 6’4” demigod that can cover whole city crosswalks with a stride.
I’m writing this before the post-game presser, where Stewie will surely be asked about that play and the ensuing standing ovation, and what it says about her and this team that it came in the third quarter of a quasi-blowout of a bad team. And it does say something, and Stewie will be right to respond with a slightly generic answer about competing and giving it your all, or how how committed the Liberty are to winning, evidenced by their 14-3 record.
But it’s hard to imagine any of that crossed her mind when she was hunting down Stephanie Talbot on that play; the basketball gods set the stage, and Breanna Stewart executed simply because she could.
“I can’t believe she actually got back to do that,” said Sandy Brondello later. I was impressed when it was coming, and then, you know, she hit the backboard and I was like, ‘Oh gosh, here we go.’”
HUGEEE REJECTION FROM STEW YORK ❌@breannastewart reaches her new career-high of 6 blocks against the Sparks pic.twitter.com/Jzh6EtnJ1w— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 22, 2024
To top it off, New York forced a five-second violation on the ensuing L.A. inbound, turned the volume up to 11 by giving the Barclays crowd more time to soak in what they just saw.
“It was amazing,” said Jonquel Jones of the moment. “I think the bench, everybody was just in awe of her being able to get there, and then the timing.”
Stewart’s magnificence turned an ESPN game that seemingly didn’t have the shine of the prior week’s matchup between the Liberty and Las Vegas Aces into must-watch TV, or at least something no hoop lover could be ok missing out on.
Thankfully, the Sparks played their role well, never letting the margin get too out of reach. Dearica Hamby rebounded from a quiet game on Thursday to put up a 20/6/5/ line with three steals as L.A. kind of survived Stewart’s first half onslaught, while the Sparks’ bench thoroughly outplayed their East Coast counterparts in the second half.
It was the one negative trend for New York, as Ivana Dojkić and Kennedy Burke (and briefly, Marquesha Davis) went scoreless, while Zia Cooke and Stephanie Talbot put up double-digits.
Yet, even though the starters had to do 100% of the scoring, Stewart had more than enough help in that area. Kayla Thornton, making her eighth consecutive start in place of Courtney Vandersloot, shot a blistering 6-of-7 from deep (a career-high) to score 20 points, a dozen coming in a fiery third quarter...
JJ with the behind the back dish to KT @KBT_5Blessed is ON with 17 PTS this afternoon! pic.twitter.com/wx9GS3tRwX— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 22, 2024
“It’s just spacing, being in the right place at the right time and shooting with confidence,” said Thornton, while Brondello offered more praise.
“Firstly, she practices this every single day. She plays her role perfectly... every time it goes up, I know it’s going in.”
And while Stewie’s star shined brightest, her co-stars continued to put in work. Sabrina Ionescu put up 24/6/9 with only one turnover, and Jonquel Jones recorded a monster 14/13 double-double, but was perhaps most impressive dishing the ball.
Her five assists don’t full capture how quickly she moved the ball around the arc after Los Angeles would trap Ionescu on the perimeter, in part because her best pass of the day went unrewarded...
Another fallen dime pic.twitter.com/0NDdhEdU4h— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) June 22, 2024
Said Thornton: “I’m just expecting the passes and being ready, just looking at her at all times, because you don’t always know where they’re coming from.”
The Liberty assisted 31 times on 37 buckets, and shot 14-of-34 from deep (44.4%). Sure, it was Breanna Stewart’s turn to dominate, finishing with a 31/3/7/3/6 stat-line that doesn’t even make sense, but it was a quintessential New York win, powered by ball movement, deadly transition offense, and star-power at the top.
The Liberty are now 14-3, winning 10 of their last 11 to establish them as the WNBA’s most feared team in 2024, though they are tied with the Connecticut Sun in the standings. Per Sandy Brondello, it’s the star-power that deserves the bulk of the credit in a talent-rich league.
“It’s our big three taking ownership of making sure they’re bringing their best game every single day.”
Final Score: New York Liberty 98, Los Angeles Sparks 88
Injury Update
There was little-to-no updates for Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who missed her second straight game with knee soreness, and Nyara Sabally, still out with a back injury.
However, Courtney Vandersloot was upgraded to questionable (Return to Play Conditioning) before the game, with her eight-game absence nearing an end, seemingly. Just prior to Thursday’s game, the Liberty announced the passing of her mother, Jan Vandersloot, with a video tribute on the scoreboard.
“We’re gonna wrap her in our arms as much as we can, because it’s a terrible situation. We are her family as well,” said Sandy Brondello on Saturday.
Next Up
Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
It’s a quick turnaround! In their final tune-up before the Commissioner’s Cup Final, the Liberty will fly down to Atlanta, facing the Dream to complete a two-city back-to-back.
Tip-off for Sunday afternoon is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET.
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