Breanna Stewart scored 33 points to lead the New York Liberty to a 98–88 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday. With the victory, Liberty improved its record to 14-3, the best start after 17 games in franchise history.
Last season’s squad They went on to a franchise-best 18-5 record, but the .783 winning percentage is lower than the .824 mark currently held by this year’s Liberty team. The 2023 Liberty went 13-4 (.765) after 17 games.
Stewie led the charge in Liberty’s 98-83 win against the Sparks
The Liberty (14-3) are now off to their best start in franchise history! pic.twitter.com/x3qcqzmdKn
– Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 22, 2024
At 14-3, the Liberty still trails the Connecticut Sun, who have the WNBA’s best record at 13-2 heading into Saturday’s matchup against the Seattle Storm (9-6).
Stewart was 12 of 19 from the field, along with seven assists, six blocks and three steals. The 33 points match his season high, which he also reached in a June 4 matchup against the Chicago Sky. (She noted 45 points, the highest of his career and franchise last season against the Indiana Fever.) Stewart also became the first player in WNBA history to score more than 20 (24) points, five assists and five blocks in one half of action.
Breanna Stewart turned in a MONSTER performance in the first half against the LA Sparks
24 points
5 AST
5 BLACK
3 styles
8-10 field goals
3-5 3 pointsShe becomes the first player in WNBA history to record 20+ PTS, 5+ AST and 5+ BLK in a half! pic.twitter.com/Cw2J0AElco
– WNBA (@WNBA) June 22, 2024
Sabrina Ionescu added 24 points, six rebounds and nine assists for New York, while Kayla Thornton had 20 points (6 of 7 on 3-pointers) and six rebounds.
Saturday’s victory was the second in a row over the Sparks, with the two teams facing each other back-to-back at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in a curious quirk of the schedule. New York also won 93–80 on Thursday.
Los Angeles was led by Dearica Hamby’s 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Zia Cooke followed with 14 points. This was the Sparks’ second game since star rookie Cameron Brink suffered a season-ending knee injury in Tuesday’s loss to the Sun.
The Liberty played without Courtney Vandersloot, who was away from the team to be with her mother. who died last weekend. New York was also without Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, recovering from a knee injury, and Nyara Sabally, with a back injury.
Next up for Liberty is a road matchup with the Atlanta Dream on Sunday before having a bye week. The Sparks travel to play the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.
