When Breanna Stewart was captured arriving at Target Center on Sunday, she showed the world exactly what she was presumably feeling on the inside. Wearing an all-black outfit designed by Thom Browne, black socks, black shoes, black sunglasses and her dark brown hair tied back in a black ponytail, she was giving off confidence, intimidation. The Liberty may be an eight seed, but Stewart was dressed in top-seed vibes.
So was her Game 1 performance in a 91-75 win over the Lynx. She put up a stat line that no other WNBA player has in the postseason — 34 points on 11-fo-18 shooting, including two threes, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, two steals and two blocks in over 37 minutes of play.
“I think I was just really ready,” Stewart said postgame on her historic performance. “I mean, if you don’t get up for these big moments, then you got to rethink why you’re playing basketball and that type of thing. But for myself, mentally, just just ready to do whatever it took to kind of lead the team and get the win today, and my teammates found me and and got me good looks at the basket. So I just wanted to keep going.”
Stewart played a productive first half where she scored 16 points on 50% shooting along with five rebounds, one assist, a block and three turnovers in the first half. Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve believed that her team defended Stewart as well as they could in the first half, but then Stewart unleashed her beast mode in the second half that the Lynx, the league’s smallest team, just couldn’t handle.
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Stewart scored 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting and made 7-of-8 free throws. She added seven more rebounds and had five of her six total assists in that second half. All of Stewart’s second half field goals came on assists from Sabrina Ionescu. New York drilled home the Stewart and Ionescu pick-and-roll in the second half. With 6:44 left in the third quarter and the game was still within a possession, Ionescu and Stewart initiated a high pick-and-roll right around the Lynx’s center court logo. Stewart rolled quickly and caught Ionescu’s pocket pass with a ton of space that allowed Stewart a clear driving lane to the basket. The Liberty took 51-46 lead, Reeve called a timeout and Stewart screamed “YEAH SAB!” as the Liberty made their way back to the bench.
Ionescu called her partner in pick-and-roll a “walking mismatch” postgame when asked about what she saw from her teammate of now four seasons.
“I mean, she’s everything,” Ionescu said. “Obviously, her ability to do what she does offensively, but defensively as well. You can always rely on her. She’s everywhere. She keeps us poised out there, and her versatility, her ability to score from really anywhere on the court just helps. Especially me as a guard, knowing when I come off, I’m trying to look for her, put her in the best position to to feel good and get good shots for herself because obviously it’s great for our offense.”
Stewart has been incredibly stabilizing for the Liberty’s defense, a group that held the Lynx to just 22 points in the paint at a 37.9% clip. New York Liberty Head coach Chris DeMarco referred to Stewart as someone who is “putting out fires” and is “finding the next play” that could hurt the Liberty’s defense so that she can help put a stop to it.
“We all know this, but all the things she does outside of that, offensively and defensively, are just winning things,” he said. “They’re intangibles, and it’s just we can all feel it. We can feel it when she’s out there. It gives us confidence.”
A win like this should give the Liberty confidence, but not too much. New York only had two other scorers in double-figures in Ionescu with 13 points on another inefficient shooting performance, and Leonie Fiebich who added 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Tuesday night back in New York, Stewart will need to deliver another efficient masterclass in a second straight game, two days after playing almost 38 minutes.
Stewart reminded reporters postgame that the Liberty had the same outcome just around a year ago. The Liberty marched into Phoenix under Sandy Brondello and walked out with a Game 1 win. But then Stewart had to play the rest of the series on a sprained knee, and the Liberty were bounced early. She still remembers that moment very clearly.
“This doesn’t mean relax,” she said. “…Minny is obviously really exceptionally talented, and they’re gonna throw everything they got at us on Tuesday, and we’re gonna be ready for it. For those that were here last year, like we did this in Phoenix, and then we got smoked on our home court. So, being really intentional for the adjustments we’re going to make. Obviously, we had a ton of turnovers and want to be better in that area. But we’re going to be just the same steadiness that we had for today. We’re going to be that on Tuesday.”
On Tuesday Stewart will arrive at Barclays Center, and she will no doubt make another fashion statement that will show exactly how she’s feeling on the inside. If she plays like she did in Game 1, she can rewrite the story of the 2026 New York Liberty, too.
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