Stewart Paces Liberty In Game 2
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Shara Talia Taylor
The New York Liberty returned to their home court Sunday afternoon and refused to give up, earning an 80-66 victory against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.
New York was relentless as they played defense even when the calls were not in their favor and Minnesota was scoring more. Breanna Stewart led the force with 21 points, seven steals and one block and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who came through in clutch moments, contributed 20 points and led the team with four 3-pointers.
“I think that honestly the thought process was we were trying to be up a little bit more, (by) not letting them get to the 3-point line to set up their offense,” Stewart said about how they tried to control Game 2. “Making them have to move a little bit quicker than they wanted.”
Stewart had eight rebounds and five assists and Laney-Hamilton added two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Sunday’s game began like Thursday’s matchup. New York started the game strong, but Minnesota pushed back in the second and third quarters. The Liberty led 31-21 at the end of the first quarter, were ahead 49-39 at halftime and led 61-53 by the end of the third quarter, but Sunday was an improvement for New York as they scored better in the second quarter. The Liberty tied the Lynx with 18 points in the second quarter, but were outscored 14-12 in the third quarter alone.
The Liberty had to play more meticulously in the second half of the game, when some of their shots were off and the Lynx scored more returning from halftime. Jonquel Jones made a shot that was determined to be after the shot clock at the beginning of the third quarter and Laney-Hamilton’s shot in the fourth quarter was also after the shot clock expired. Laney-Hamilton said they just had to get the points back.
“In those moments not getting too flustered,” she said. “Yeah it’s frustrating, but you gotta keep going.”
Jones added 14 points, two steals and one assist for the team. She led the team with nine rebounds. She said they turned Game 1 into a learning experience by going back and watching the film to look for mistakes and determine things to do differently.
“Staying locked in, trying to get stops on big possessions,” she said about her changes in Game 2. “That’s what it came down to in Game 1. They made better plays than us or more plays than us to win games.”
A foul was called on Courtney Vandersloot in the fourth quarter as she tried to block Natisha Hiedeman’s shot and stopped in front of her. Hiedeman landed on Vandersloot’s foot and fell. The foul was called a “reckless closeout” and upgraded to a flagrant foul.
“She landed on my ankle and I should know better,” Vandersloot said. “I just got a little too close I guess.”
Laney-Hamilton gave the Liberty a necessary 3-pointer when the Lynx were only two points behind, 66-68 in the fourth quarter. The team was fired up when Leonie Fiebich made a 3-pointer with less than 1:30 minutes remaining in the quarter and pushed the Liberty further ahead to give them the needed spark. Stewart had put pressure on Courtney Williams causing her to lose control of the ball as Fiebich picked it up and fired the shot.
Sabrina Ionescu also made a big impact for New York with 15 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 16 points and Williams added 15 points for their team.
The Liberty next travel to Minneapolis to take on the Lynx in Game 3 of the series.
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