Breanna Stewart swatted the momentum the Indiana Fever constructed in the course of the three-game win streak they carried into New York Wednesday evening. Indiana (12-11) left with a 21-point, bruising defeat.
Stewart blocked 4 pictures in a masterful two-way efficiency in opposition to a Fever workforce that was lacking Caitlin Clark and taking part in its second straight highway recreation in as many days.
The Liberty (15-6) dribbled out a 98-77 win to the tune of a standing ovation within the Barclays Heart.
Stewart, a three-time WNBA champion and two-time league MVP, dazzled on each ends, clocking out with 24 factors, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and, after all, these 4 blocks.
“I simply needed to be aggressive and actually set the tone and tempo for my workforce and guarantee that we got here out each single quarter able to go and able to play,” Stewart informed the published in her postgame interview.
Hours earlier than tip-off, Clark was dominated out with the groin damage that she reaggravated throughout Tuesday’s win over the Connecticut Solar. Clark is a second-time All-Star in addition to a captain for Saturday’s All-Star Sport. Her standing for the midseason exhibition, plus the 3-point contest, is up within the air.
Whereas Indiana has discovered methods to win with out Clark this season, the Fever are all the time going to be combating an uphill battle in that place if their different former No. 1 total decide, heart Aliyah Boston, isn’t at her greatest. For the second recreation in a row, Boston struggled from the sector. A day faraway from a 2 of 6 outing in opposition to the Solar, she shot a mere 1 of 8 Wednesday versus the Liberty. Whereas Boston dished a team-high six assists with no turnover, she scored solely seven factors.
In the meantime, New York’s star duo flourished into the third quarter. In truth, early within the body each Stewart and four-time All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu had 15 factors. Though they flirted with a fourth recreation this season through which every of them tallied 20-plus factors, Ionescu cooled off down the stretch and really completed simply 5 of 14.
The identical couldn’t be stated for fellow guard Marine Johannès. The French native heated up within the fourth quarter. Two of her 4 3-pointers got here inside a two-minute span within the ultimate 4 minutes of play. After she knocked down the second in transition, Fever head coach Stephanie White known as a timeout.
Ionescu shot off the bench and onto the courtroom earlier than giving Johannès a hug.
New York hit 14 of 27 3s, posting a much better 3-point proportion (51.9%) than the Fever’s total area purpose proportion (36.8%) Wednesday evening.
“All-Star break is a pleasant time for us to relaxation and regroup, however we needed to get this win first,” Stewart stated in her on-court postgame interview.
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