Breanna Stewart puts Liberty on brink of first WNBA title

MINNEAPOLIS -- Breanna Stewart sat on the bench in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the WNBA Finalson Wednesday, her team down two points. The New York Liberty had clawed back from a 15-point first-quarter deficit, largely thanks to a superb 30-point night from Stewart.

Before the Liberty returned to the floor against the home team Lynx and their 19,521 fans eager to see Minnesota return to its championship glory, Stewart emphatically delivered a simple message before the timeout ended.

"We are not going to f---ing lose this game."

"I could feel it," Stewart said of the moment. "You could feel the momentum was shifting to our side. It [was] like, if we are going to be this close, we are not leaving here without this win."

The Liberty brought Stewart's plea into fruition.

Behind 11 points in the final 2:10 from Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones -- capped by Ionescu's 28-foot 3-pointer to win the game -- New York secured a 80-77 comeback victory to move within one win of clinching the 2024 WNBA title.

And while Ionescu's final shot might be the lasting image from the game, the Liberty -- who are chasing the franchise's first championship--would have been on life support without Stewart's monster night on both ends of the floor.

The two-time WNBA, four-time NCAA champion and two-time WNBA MVP finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks, making her the only player in league history with multiple 30-10 Finals performances. She is also the only player to have a 30-point Finals game for two different franchises, her previous one coming with the Seattle Storm.

"We don't win this game without Stewie," Ionescu said. "What she was able to do, just continued to chip away ... that [game-winning] shot's nice but that doesn't go against what she's been able to do for us tonight and how she was able to just will us back into that game."

"She carried us," Jones added of Stewart. "Without her, we wouldn't be in a position to make those big plays."

This year's WNBA Finals have been a roller coaster for Stewart and the Liberty. In Game 1, New York blew a 15-point edge with five minutes to go before losing in overtime. Stewart missed what would have been the game-winning free throw with 0.8 left in regulation, as well as a layup in overtime that would have tied the score right before the final buzzer.

Behind Stewart's 21-point, 5-steal outing, the Liberty bounced back in Game 2. But in Minnesota's first home game of the series, New York got punched first, struggling early against the Lynx's defensive pressure and committing 8 first-quarter turnovers. Minnesota turned those into 14 points to help build a double-digit advantage.

Stewart started heating up in the second period with six points, helping New York cut the deficit to a manageable eight going into the break. But she put her foot on the gas after halftime: With a pair of 3-pointers, some tough jump shots and multiple and-1s, Stewart scored 13 straight points for the Liberty across the third and fourth periods, tying the score and marking the most consecutive team points scored by a single player in the WNBA Finals.

Her 22 points in the second half were the fourth most by a player in either half in Finals history.

"She made big, big plays and had a big stretch," Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot said. "When we couldn't really score, she got a few big buckets, kind of got our offense going. ... That's what you expect your superstars to do."

Stewart's effort on the defensive end was just as impactful. In addition to her rim protection -- three of her four blocks came in the second half -- Stewart held the Lynx to 4-for-15 shooting as a primary defender and forced four turnovers. Over the past two games, Lynx star Napheesa Collier has shot 4-for-12 and committed six turnovers against Stewart.

"You just see her experience, right? She's an amazing player," New York guard Leonie Fiebich said. "Just on offense and defense she made such big plays for us. Never gave up. She was always coming in, flying from somewhere on the defensive end. It was great to watch her perform like that."

Game 3 mirrored Game 1: The road team erased a big deficit -- last Thursday, Minnesota trailed by as many as 18 -- to come away with the victory. Since that heartbreaking defeat, Stewart and the Liberty "were all kind of just waiting for our moment, waiting for the script to flip a little bit," she said.

"I was motivated," Stewart said about Wednesday's contest. "I was mad [that New York was losing]. And I liked my matchups that I had, and really kind of attacking them to make sure that we could get this back into where we needed to be for it to be a ballgame."

With one more win, Stewart can bring the Liberty the championship she envisioned when she signed with the team in free agency ahead of the 2023 season. She can fully exorcise any demons remaining from how 2023 ended -- a 3-for-17 Game 4 performance as the Las Vegas Aces celebrated the WNBA title on the Liberty's home floor. And if New York wins Friday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) or in a decisive Game 5 on Sunday, Stewart could become only the second WNBA player, and first since Cynthia Cooper, to win at least three Finals MVPs.

But the glory of what could lie ahead was of no concern to Stewart after Wednesday's game. The job isn't done yet, she reiterated.

"We know we're one game away from winning the championship, and I think that they are going to give us their best shot," Stewart said. "They are going to give everything they have got, and you know what, so are we."