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Stewart and Laney-Hamilton deliver a Liberty-level series with Lynx

NEW YORK – Breanna Stewart said that as disappointing as New York Liberty’s Game 1 loss in the WNBA Finals was Thursday, it didn’t keep her awake. She watched the video of her free throw at the end of regulation time and the layup she missed at the end of overtime.

In neither case did she think she had done anything fundamentally wrong; the shots just weren’t falling. This allowed her to rest without thinking about it too much. But when you’re a two-time league MVP, you can’t wait to redeem yourself.

“When the game ended on Thursday, I was looking forward to Sunday,” Stewart said.

In Liberty’s 80-66 Game 2 win over Minnesota, Stewart’s fingerprints covered the box score. She led New York with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and a WNBA Finals record 7 steals. According to ESPN Research, in 2019 she joined Alyssa Thomas as the only players to record 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals in a finals game.

Stewart also had a major responsibility in slowing down Minnesota star Napheesa Collier, who had 16 points and 8 rebounds, but also 7 turnovers.

Stewart was a senior and Collier a freshman on UConn’s last national championship team, in 2015-16. Huskies coach Geno Auriemma was in attendance at Sunday’s game, and Stewart joked that it was “about time” he came to Brooklyn to watch her play. He saw the grown-up version of the player who led UConn to four straight NCAA titles.

“She was all over the floor, just causing damage everywhere, getting in the gaps and making things difficult (for the Lynx),” New York guard Courtney Vandersloot said of Stewart. “When you have your best player, your leader, who plays as hard as she does night in and night out and impacts the game in different ways – not just scoring and rebounding… she does other things – that’s a big motivator for everyone and she sets the standard for us.”

The Liberty also got a huge offensive matchup from a more unexpected source on Sunday. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who had been battling knee problems that forced her to miss 10 games in the regular season, leveled her season with 20 points while also gaining significant ground on defense.

“She was digging deep, and that’s what we needed,” coach Sandy Brondello said.

Laney-Hamilton said, “I think it gives me a little bit of momentum as we go through the series. It felt really good because I know I’ve been struggling physically and mentally while I’ve been through everything.”

The win evened the best-of-five series heading into the next two games in Minneapolis. The Liberty and the Lynx, the No. 1 and 2 seeds in the playoffs, tied for the best regular-season record at home this year, each going 16-4. The Liberty also had the best road record, also 16-4.

The 18,046 fans set a record for a Liberty game on Sunday at Barclays Center, where the team has played full-time since 2021. Large crowds are expected for Game 3 on Wednesday and Game 4 on Friday at Target Center. Stewart said she and the Liberty are ready for that.

“We embrace it; we like it when it’s loud, when it’s hard,” Stewart said. “Hopefully it will be an incredible atmosphere for both games. It’s about not getting too high or too low; things will seem bigger than they are because they’re playing at home. I’m sure Minny will be the same when they play here. “

Avoiding a two-game deficit was imperative for Stewart and the Liberty after Thursday’s 95-93 loss, in which they let a 15-point lead slip in the final five minutes of regulation. With New York never winning a championship in the previous 27 seasons of the WNBA, the Liberty are under historic pressure.

But on Saturday, the Liberty sounded more optimistic after training. Stewart then predicted that she wouldn’t let herself feel hungover from the Game 1 loss.

“I can’t strive to be the best, to be great, and then be afraid of failure,” she said. “This is what happens when you put yourself in important, high-stress situations. You are faced with possible failures. Yes, I was upset because we could have won (Thursday’s) game. But I’m glad I had the opportunity Throughout this entire process, my team has been behind me every step of the way.”

Brondello said that just after Thursday’s loss, she told Stewart, “Look, this isn’t on you. This is up to us.’

“We win together as a team, we lose together as a team. There’s no pointing fingers. We all could have done things better. It hurts, but what are we going to do about it? We’ve got to pick up Stewie. One thing about Stewie, she bounces back.” back pretty soon.”