Playoff Stewie is fully activated.
New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart imposed her will on Game 2 of the WNBA playoff semifinal series against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, Oct. 7, becoming the first player in WNBA playoff history to record 35 points, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus assists. Stewart finished with 11 boards and six assists.
However, Stewart's monster stat line wasn't enough to get New York over the finish line. The Liberty lost 101-98 in overtime to drop into an 2-0 hole against the Dream as the best-of-five semifinal series shifts to New York for Game 3.
The Liberty failed to use their remaining reset timeout with 4.3 seconds remaining in overtime while trailing 101-98. New York advanced the ball up the court and Stewart
got off a game-tying 3-point attempt to no avail.
Stewart expressed frustration over the Liberty's unused reset timeout, saying she specifically asked the referees if they had one during Dream forward Angele Reese's free throw attempts with 4.3 seconds remaining. Stewart said she was told the Liberty had no reset timeouts, despite having one.
"I asked Kevin (Fahy), I said, 'Do we have a reset timeout?' And he said, 'I'm going to check at the table,'" Stewart recalled. "So then he looked to Fatou (Cissoko-Stephens) and she said, 'No.' So then he told me no. Of course, who knows what would happen in the game, but we would have hopefully a better shot on goal."
The Liberty were looking for Stewart early and often on Wednesday. She had 15 points in the first quarter, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from the 3-point line. She added another 10 points in the second quarter to improve to 8-of-9 from the field, 2-of-2 from the 3-point line and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Stewart became the first player in league history to record 25 points in a half while shooting at least 80% from the field.
"(Breanna Stewart) hit some big shots early and just continues to find ways to attack in the paint and at the free-throw line," said Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who finished with 10 points and six assists.
Stewart's 25-point first half is tied for the third-highest scoring half in playoff history. Angel McCoughtry holds the record with 27 points scored in a half in 2012, while Stewart recorded 26 points in a half in 2022.
However, Stewart's production slowed in the second half as the Dream's stout defense zeroed in. She was limited to eight points in the second half, shooting 2-of-8 from the field across the last two quarters. Stewart added two points in overtime.
She finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal, shooting 11-of-20 from the field and 2-of-4 from the 3-point line and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Wednesday marked the 10th 30-point playoff game of Stewart's career, but Stewart would rather have the win as the Liberty are on the brink of elimination.
"We're focused on winning one game and that's (Game 3 on) Friday. And then we go from there," Stewart added. "But this group has experience. I've been a part of some crazy series and I have a lot of confidence in our group... that when we get home... play in front of our fans and put it all out there."
Breanna Stewart stats
- Points: 35
- Rebounds: 11
- Assists: 6
- Blocks: 2
- Steals: 1
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Liberty on brink despite Stewart's record-setting Game 2 performance
