The Minnesota Lynx picked things up from where they’d left off before the World Cup, extending their losing streak. For the Liberty, and for Breanna Stewart specifically, a significant part of that victory came down to the defensive effort the team deployed against a player like Olivia Miles.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Speaking in the postgame press conference, a video of which was shared on the Liberty’s YouTube channel, Stewart was perhaps a little more candid than anticipated in describing exactly what the game plan involved. She threw in the word “sh*t” while discussing the team’s defensive coverage of Miles.
“Listen, you can ask probably any guard in the league, they don’t want to be picked up 94 feet,” Stewart said. “And the fact that we rotated between Leo, Bek, and Pauline to just be in her sh*t was what we wanted to do.
The choice of words did not go unnoticed by Sabrina Ionescu, who was sitting with her at the press conference desk, immediately raised her eyebrows and looked in her direction. The interview continued as usual.
“She still got to the rim, she still got to the free-throw line, but not as efficiently as she would have liked,” Stewart continued in the YouTube clip posted by the team on September 19. “But I think we continued to give her different looks.”
True to what Stewart described, the Liberty did deploy a highly aggressive and physical defensive strategy that succeeded in meaningfully disrupting Miles’ rhythm throughout the game. Of course, Miles still managed to finish with a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, but the Liberty effectively stripped away her usual efficiency.
The relentless pressure caused Miles to miss 10 of her first 13 shots, and she finished the night shooting a difficult 27.8 percent from the field, just 5-of-18 overall, while going 0-for-3 from three-point range. The physicality also forced five turnovers that New York consistently converted into fast-break points at the other end. As Stewart acknowledged, she did eventually adjust late by drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line, where she converted 10 of 12 attempts.
Beyond the defensive execution, however, the Liberty offense, and Breanna Stewart herself, also deserved plenty of credit for the victory. Carrying forward the extraordinary form she showed before and throughout the World Cup, Breanna Stewart finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals, a masterful double-double performance that drove New York’s win from start to finish.
Stewart also paired her volume with impressive efficiency, converting 8 of 17 field goal attempts shooting 47.1 percent from the floor, and shooting 66.7 percent from three-point range, going 2-of-3 from deep. The most impactful of those long-range makes came in the fourth quarter, a clutch, go-ahead three-pointer that completely halted Minnesota’s late momentum and effectively sealed the result.
Sabrina Ionescu, whose eyebrow raise had briefly stolen the press conference, contributed meaningfully to the victory on the floor, finishing with 17 points, three rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
With the win, the New York Liberty improved to 25-16, while the league-leading Lynx dropped to 31-10. The Liberty face the Toronto Tempo in their next game and will be hoping to maintain the winning momentum as the playoff picture continues to sharpen.
Though still top of the table, the Lynx eventually fell to a 93-81 defeat to the New York Liberty at Target Center in Minneapolis, dropping their third consecutive game.
The more pressing concern is snapping the skid and finding a way to enter the postseason with the form and confidence that their regular-season record suggests they are capable of.
A late-season slump is the last thing the Lynx, who have spent much of this season looking like the team to beat, can afford heading into October.