The former University of Connecticut star is a two-time WNBA champion and two-time Finals MVP with Seattle. She’s also a three-time Olympic gold medalist who signed with New York as a free agent in February 2023 with the clear goal of delivering the Liberty their first WNBA title.
She said her teammates lifted her up after those Game 1 miscues.
“Throughout this entire process, my team has my back every step of the way,” Stewart said. “I was just excited to have another opportunity to go to battle because we have a lot of fun in everything that we do. And you know, it’s not always like that.”
It wasn’t like that in Stewart’s bounce-back Game 2 when she had 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a WNBA Finals-record seven steals. Three of those steals came in the fourth quarter, when the Liberty ran the table after Lynx guard Courtney Williams’ driving layup brought her team within 68-66 with 3 minutes, 40 seconds remaining.
The Liberty led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter before the Lynx got within two.
“She’s resilient,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Stewart, whom she coached at the Paris Olympics in August.
