Breanna Stewart delivered a masterful 43-point performance to help the host New York Liberty hold off the pesky Phoenix Mercury for a 99-95 win on Wednesday night.
Stewart scored 14 of the final 16 points for New York, which led 73-53 in the third quarter before a pair of Kayla Thornton flagrant fouls opened the door for a Phoenix comeback. The Mercury ended up taking a 94-92 lead on Michaela Onyenwere’s layup with 1:51 left in the game.
Jonquel Jones responded on the other end to even things at 94, and the Liberty took the lead for good at 96-94 on Stewart’s layup that allowed her to secure her second 40-point game of the season.
After Onyenwere split a pair of free throws to keep New York ahead 96-95, Stewart drained a runner in traffic on the other end to give the Liberty a three-point cushion with 18.1 seconds left.
Jones secured a crucial rebound following Shey Peddy’s miss, and Stewart’s ensuing free throw with 3.1 seconds remaining sealed the victory.
Stewart went 13-for-20 from the floor and 14-for-16 from the free-throw line. Betnijah Laney added 14 points for New York (12-4).
Diana Taurasi led Phoenix (3-13) with 23 points, going 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Brittney Griner poured in 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Onyenwere contributed 19 points off the bench.
After Moriah Jefferson had opened the scoring with a 3-pointer that gave Phoenix its only lead of the first half, Sabrina Ionescu hit New York’s first triple, Stewart canned two more and Thornton added another as the Liberty’s lead swelled to 25-11 just under eight minutes into the game.
Stewart’s 11 points propelled New York to a 26-13 lead after the first quarter.
Phoenix settled in and scored the first 10 points of the second quarter to pull within three on Taurasi’s trey with 7:26 left. The Mercury went on to have a 33-point frame, but New York still managed to go into the break leading 53-46 behind 19 points from Stewart.
The Liberty opened the third quarter on a 20-7 run, going up 73-53 when Ionescu drained a 3-pointer with 4:46 to go until the fourth.
–Field Level Media
