Stewart says Liberty can’t slow down

Reigning MVP not content with league-leading status

August 22, 2024 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart is eager to help the Liberty pile up wins ahead of next month's playoffs. AP Photo by Michael Conroy

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Reigning WNBA Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart knows a thing or two about winning championships, be they stateside or overseas.

A two-time Finals MVP in Seattle and fresh off winning her third straight gold medal with Team USA, Stewart isn’t getting haughty about the New York Liberty’s league-best 24-4 start.

Or, that they were the first WNBA team to clinch a playoff spot last weekend.

“I don’t know. I feel like we haven’t done anything yet,” Stewart noted somberly Tuesday night after helping New York to a 94-74 rout of the Dallas Wings at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

Last year, Stewart set a single-season league mark for scoring, eclipsed the 40-point plateau a WNBA record four times and grabbed her second MVP trophy.

None of it added up to the first WNBA title in Liberty history as New York fell in four tough games to two-time defending champion Las Vegas.

And by her own admission, Stewart suffered through a rough Finals against the dynastic Aces, culminating in a 3-for-17 shooting effort in front of a record crowd at Barclays in the finale.

Stewart did spearhead the Storm to league crowns in 2018 and 2020 during her six years in Seattle. She also grabbed four championships in as many years at the University of Connecticut before going pro.

But that gaudy resume and each of those titles came at a cost. And Stewart knows the difference between being a great team and being a champion.

Especially since most of the league is trying to play catch-up with New York in the final month of the regular season.

“Our record is great, of course, but there’s someone who can get better out there,” Stewart reminded everyone as New York prepared for Thursday night’s rematch with Dallas at Barclays.

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello and All-Star forward Breanna Stewart know what it takes to win a WNBA championship. AP Photo by Bebeto Matthews

Connecticut (20-7) sits 3 1/2 games behind the Liberty for the top seed in next month’s playoffs. The Sun, who have gone 2-1 since the Olympic break, will be in Brooklyn Saturday for the finale of this three-game homestand.

“We want home-court advantage,” Stewart added after New York used a big fourth quarter to hold off a Dallas comeback.

“Obviously, stabbing these wins, like, everybody keeps saying, ‘Oh, you guys, clinched playoffs. Like, why are you still trying hard?’ And I’m like, ‘What do you mean?!'”

Stewart, who led New York in scoring and rebounding in her first year here, is behind fellow All-Stars Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones, respectively, in those categories thus far this season.

But that hasn’t slowed her production in other important statistics.

Though she still puts up a healthy 19.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest, Stewart paces New York with 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game and ranks third in assists with a 3.8 average.

She’s not nearly as concerned with her individual performance as helping the Liberty win the crown they built this “Superteam” to deliver in 2023.

“I think what I want to see from this team, from our team, is just the way that we continue to kind of get better,” she noted after putting up team highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds against the struggling Wings (6-21) Tuesday.

Stewart also noted her coach’s influence on the team.

Sandy Brondello guided the Phoenix Mercury to the 2014 championship and has led a team to the playoffs in each of her 12 seasons as a coach in the league.

“What makes Sandy special is that she’s human, and also she knows our feelings as a former player,” Stewart said of Brondello, who celebrated her 56th birthday with Tuesday’s series-opening win.

“She continues to work on us and make us keep going.”

Tip-off for Thursday’s game is set for 7 p.m.

Injured All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu will likely be a game-time decision to play Thursday when the Liberty wrap up a two-game set with Dallas in Brooklyn. AP Photo by Darron Cummings

GIVE ME LIBERTY: Ionescu missed Tuesday’s game with a sore neck and was listed as questionable for Thursday at press time. Forward Leonie Fiebich left the series opener after 13 minutes with a rib injury, and is also questionable to hit the hardwood against the Wings. Both will likely be game-time decisions. “Sabrina was ruled out (before the game) and then Leo got hit in her ribs, so we had to hold her out too,” Brondello said. “Hopefully they’ll all be okay.” … Dallas has lost back-to-back games since the Olympic break, five of its last six overall and is 2-13 on the road this year. The Wings, who are five games out of the WNBA’s final playoff spot, did not list any injuries for Thursday’s rematch.