Breanna Stewart’s double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds carried the unbeaten New York Liberty to an 86-78 victory over the host Washington Mystics on Thursday in the nation’s capital.
Sabrina Ionescu added 13 points and Kennedy Burke scored 12 for the reigning WNBA champion Liberty (8-0), who have won the last six meetings against the Mystics by an average of nearly 12 points.
The Liberty played most of the game without starter Jonquel Jones, who injured her ankle while going up for a shot late in the first quarter and did not return. She came in averaging 15.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
Kiki Iriafen poured in 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Mystics (3-6), who have lost three in a row and six of their last seven overall. Jade Melbourne finished with 15 points as well and Sonia Citron added 13.
Washington trailed by as much as 16 but was within 81-77 with 58.1 seconds to go after Shakira Austin’s layup. But three free throws by Stewart, who was 10 of 13 from the line, helped the Liberty seal the deal.
The game counted in the Commissioner’s Cup standings, with New York improving to 2-0. Washington dropped to 0-2.
A 3-pointer from Ionescu with 7:57 left in the opening quarter gave the Liberty a 5-2 lead but the Mystics eventually tied it at 10-10 with 4:43 to go on a jumper from Stefanie Dolson.
Ionescu and Citron traded 3-pointers as the two teams were knotted at 13-13 with a little over three minutes to go.
Iriafen, the rookie of the month in May, scored inside and then made a free throw for a 16-13 Mystics lead at the 2:15 mark. She finished with 11 points in the quarter, including two off free throws with 17 seconds left that helped Washington close on a 12-4 run and lead 22-17 after one.
The Liberty took the lead back at 28-27 with 6:03 left in the half as Leonie Fiebich drove in for a layup.
Shots from distance by Rebekah Gardner and Fiebich soon followed, extending the lead to 36-29.
New York grabbed its first double-digit advantage of the night at 42-31 when Ionescu pulled up for a jumper with 1:49 to go.
Burke capped a big second quarter for the Liberty when she buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 20 seconds left as New York soared into halftime with a 49-34 lead, outscoring the Mystics 32-12 in the period.
The Mystics closed the gap to 51-42 with 6:42 to play on a shot by Stefanie Dolson but Burke answered with her third 3-pointer of the game to push the lead back to double digits.
New York made 10 3-pointers, negating the Mystics’ 46-24 scoring advantage in the paint.
–Field Level Media
