New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart is on a roll as she prepares for a visit from her former team in a Saturday matinee with the Seattle Storm.
The veteran forward scored 43 points and grabbed 12 rebounds Wednesday in a 99-95 home victory against the Phoenix Mercury.
“Games at home are important,” Stewart said. “We have two more (total games) before All-Star break and we want to go out on a high note.”
The Liberty (12-4) rallied for their second straight win after squandering a 20-point lead against Phoenix.
“We’re resilient and keep playing,” Stewart said. “Things aren’t always going to go our way.”
New York has won two games in a row, including an 81-66 victory Sunday at Seattle. That was the second meeting of the season between the teams after New York won 86-78 on May 30 at Seattle.
Saturday’s game marks the first matchup of the season in New York. Stewart, who played her first six pro seasons for Seattle before joining her new team this year, led the Liberty in the first meetings with the Storm by scoring 25 and 20 points.
Regardless of the opponent, Stewart intends to be an impact player.
“Just confident, aggressive and make sure I set the tone,” she said.
Storm coach Noelle Quinn said the only way to slow down Stewart is to “pray.”
The Storm (4-13) are on a four-game losing streak following Thursday night’s 93-73 setback at Connecticut.
Last weekend’s clash with the Liberty started a disturbing offensive trend for the Storm, who produced only 27 points by halftime and finished with 20 turnovers.
Seattle then managed only 24 first-half points against Connecticut. The Storm committed 20 more turnovers Thursday night, so ball handling could be an issue again.
“We did in the fourth quarter what we didn’t do in the first quarter,” Seattle center Ezi Magbegor said. “We can’t let it get to the fourth quarter for us to step up.”
WNBA scoring leader Jewell Loyd of the Storm has reached the 20-point mark in 11 games this season.
Forward Gabby Williams recently rejoined the Storm after starting 36 games last year for Seattle. She’s on the trip but didn’t play Thursday as she’s working on her conditioning.
–Field Level Media
