With a right groin injury forcing the Indiana Fever to navigate without Caitlin Clark, Breanna Stewart ensured the Liberty capitalized on the opportunity, pouring in 24 points during their 98-77 win at Barclays Center and helping them enter the All-Star break with four wins in five games.
If the Liberty needed another glimpse at the evolution of Breanna Stewart, if their superstar needed another performance to demonstrate that she, still, can be just as dominant even if her new-look shot profile doesn’t mirror the one from her most dominant seasons, then Wednesday served as that.
With a right groin injury forcing the Indiana Fever to navigate without Caitlin Clark, Stewart ensured the Liberty capitalized on the opportunity, pouring in 24 points during their 98-77 win at Barclays Center and helping them enter the All-Star break with four wins in five games.
But in a season where a career-low 21.7 percent of Stewart’s shots are 3-pointers and a career-low 21.0 percent of those attempts have gone in, Stewart again relied on attempts inside the paint — all 10 of her makes — and shot just one 3-pointer to help pace a balanced Liberty offense that shot 58 percent from the field.
Sabrina Ionescu (15 points, season-high nine assists) and Natasha Cloud (14 points) also ensured the Fever never had a chance at mounting a comeback, but the offensive burst revolved around Stewart, who topped 20 points for just the third time in the past nine games.
