Breanna Stewart Leads New York to Victory, Evening WNBA Finals Series with 80-66 Win Over Lynx in Game 2
Breanna Stewart was determined to break the cycle. As the Minnesota Lynx made another push in the fourth quarter, the two-time league MVP was not about to let the New York Liberty fall short again.
Stewart dropped 21 points and set a WNBA Finals record with seven steals, leading the Liberty to an 80-66 victory over the Lynx in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.
Similar to Game 1, New York jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half, but this time they managed to maintain it. They evened the series at 1-1, with the next game heading to Minnesota on Wednesday night.
“From the moment the game ended Thursday, I was eager for Sunday to flip the script a bit,” Stewart shared. “I wanted to be the same player but even better.”
Minnesota trailed by nine early in the fourth quarter and closed the gap to 68-66 with a layup from Courtney Williams with 3:40 left. Unfortunately for them, that was the last time they scored.
“Our offense struggled when we needed it most. We were too slow,” said Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve. “We took too long to get into our plays, and honestly, we weren’t that tough to defend against at that point. It was a tough time to be off our game.”
New York tightened up their defense and turned it into offense. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton kicked off a game-ending 12-0 run with a three-pointer from the corner. Stewart’s putback with just 57 seconds left pushed New York’s lead into double digits. She did miss a crucial free throw with only 0.8 seconds remaining in Game 1 that could have secured the win for New York.
Laney-Hamilton ended the game with 20 points, making important shots and playing solid defense. After injuring her right knee before the Olympic break, she missed over a month but is gradually getting back into form.
“Her grit and toughness are invaluable,” said Liberty coach Sandy Brondello. “We all know she’s giving it her all. She stayed aggressive, and when they went under on her, she confidently knocked down those shots.”
Stewart also contributed with eight rebounds and five assists, along with some steals.
“I aimed to make it tough for everyone I faced,” Stewart mentioned.
The game attracted a packed house of 18,040, featuring celebrities like Jennifer Hudson, Katie Couric, Fat Joe, and UConn coach Geno Auriemma. This was the largest crowd the Liberty has ever had at Barclays.
With this victory, New York avoided falling behind 0-2, which would have made a historic comeback necessary. Historically, all 20 teams that found themselves down 0-2 in the best-of-five Finals ended up losing the series.
Napheesa Collier scored 16 points, while Williams added 15 for the Lynx.
New York was ahead 23-21 before finishing the first quarter with an 8-0 run, leading 31-21 at halftime. Sabrina Ionescu scored 10 of her 15 points in the first quarter, and Stewart chipped in with seven.
The Liberty pushed their lead to 46-31, but Minnesota managed to cut it to 10 by halftime.
The Lynx narrowed the gap to 57-53 late in the third quarter, but Stewart responded with two free throws, made a huge block, and then hit a jumper to extend New York’s lead to 61-53 as they headed into the final quarter.
The Liberty were up 64-55 at the start of the fourth quarter, but then the Lynx hit 11 out of the next 15 points, closing the gap and making it a game again.
SportsLigue