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The Liberty, only a few days removed from winning the Commissioner’s Cup, returned to regularly scheduled programming Friday with a statement win against their rival Lynx.
Breanna Stewart made sure there would be no fingers pointed to the team relishing too much in its in-season tournament win after she exploded for a season-high 36 points in the Liberty’s 99-86 win.
She scored 16 points in the first quarter on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting.
She never took her foot off the gas, continuing to press, attack and frustrate the Lynx.
It was clear Stewart wasn’t going to let the Liberty let this one slip away.
The Lynx were without Napheesa Collier, who’s still on the mend after having surgery on both ankles this offseason. Minnesota is also waiting for Dorka Juhasz (foot sprain) to make her season debut.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve had an opportunity to make history Friday after she tied Mike Thibault’s WNBA record for career coaching wins earlier this week.
She has 379 regular-season victories across her 17 seasons with the Lynx.
But the Liberty ensured Reeve will have to wait at least one more game before breaking the record.
The Lynx trimmed the Liberty’s 11-point lead down to three in the second quarter.
New York responded by going on a 13-2 run over the last 3:06 of the first half to take a 10-point lead.
The Lynx got within eight points of the Liberty once in the third, but that was it.
After a rocky two-week stretch of Sabrina Ionescu trying to find her footing, she has now strung together two solid performances.
“I love the compete level,” coach Chris DeMarco previously said of Ionescu. “As she gets more comfortable out there and accustomed to more 5-on-5, she was out for a while … she’s playing really well.”
All five of the Liberty’s starters finished in double-digit scoring.
Jonquel Jones notched her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds as she continues to build a case to be an All-Star.
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Pauline Astier had 14 points and six assists, while Leonie Fiebich added 13 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Rookie of the Year frontrunner Olivia Miles finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Kayla McBride led the Lynx with 18 points and three steals.
While the Liberty have struggled at times against some of the league’s lower-tiered teams, they’ve continued to rise to the occasion against the WNBA’s best.
The Liberty have now beaten the Aces twice (once in the Commissioner’s Cup final, which doesn’t impact the team’s overall record), the Atlanta Dream once and now the Lynx.
