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New York Liberty fans will see Breanna Stewart, at least a little, as they try to procure advancement in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs.
Stewart is in the starting five for the Liberty’s Game 2 tilt against the Phoenix Mercury at Barclays Center, joining fellow regular starters Natasha Cloud, Leonie Fiebich, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones. She was listed as questionable on the pregame injury report and was a game-time decision leading into Game 2 action.
Stewart, a two-time WNBA champion and MVP, returns to the New York five after leaving the opener of the series over the weekend with a lower-body injury. During the shootaround at Barclays Center leading up to the game, Stewart said she had a slight MCL sprain, which head coach Sandy Brondello later labeled a “best-case scenario considering the contact she took prior to her departure.
Stewart had 18 points and six points before leaving. She was injured on a late drive in the overtime period, making contact with Satou Sabally as she sank a clutch double. She missed the ensuing free throw and later asked Brondello to remove her from the game. New York prevailed by a 76-69 final to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three set. They can secure advancement to face either the Minnesota Lynx or the Golden State Valkyries in a round two set that tips off over this weekend.
In her pregame statements, Brondello said that “pain tolerance” was the biggest issue Stewart would face if and when she decided to play in Game 2. Brondello said she there was no extra “pressure” from her or management for Stewart to play.
Stewart already missed 13 games with a bone bruise on her right knee, a stretch that saw New York go 5-8 as they fell from the top couple to the fifth on the WNBA playoff bracket for the knockout stage of their first postseason championship defense. That didn’t affect New York in Game 1, as they held fourth-ranked Phoenix to less than 32 percent from the field despite losing 20 turnovers, all but six in the second half.
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