BROOKLYN — Breanna Stewart kicked off the superstar era for the Liberty in as spectacular fashion as you could envision.
In just her second game in a Liberty uniform, Stewart set a new franchise record for most points in a game with her 45-point performance in a 90-73 win over the Indiana Fever. Stewart came just seven points shy of tying the WNBA record for most points in a game, which is 53 set by Liz Cambage on July 17, 2018.
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The franchise record-setting basket came in the third quarter when she hit a reverse fadeaway jumper over two Fever defenders for her 41st point of the game. Her 45 points on Sunday were also a new career best for Stewart and her 15 made field goals were both a career and franchise single-game record.
“I didn’t know I broke really any record. I looked up at the scoreboard one time and then I saw I had 37 I was like, ‘I don’t even know what just happened,'” Stewart said. “But I wanted to be aggressive. I think that there was many different things that you could kind of dissect from the last game. The way that we can continue to get better, the way we can score better, literally do everything better and wanted to come out and set the tone. And just be confident and you know when you get in those moments, it just feels like everything is going in.”
The WNBA superstar was serenaded with chants of MVP throughout the game as New York dominated the Fever. Chants of “WE WANT STEWART” also started while she sat on the bench in the early portion of the fourth quarter.
The Stewart effect was on display at Barclays Center with a crowd of 8,575 on hand to see the WNBA superstar play her first game at home for her new team. The Liberty drew 6,829 last season for their home opener in Brooklyn, but the club has garnered a significant amount of attention this season after adding Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot.
“I suppose when I’m in the game, I don’t hear the crowd that much and Just focus on what I’m doing,” head coach Sandy Brondello said. “But I did. I thought it got pretty loud there at times. I think when Stewie started making all these shots and you know that’s greatness. You know this is at our home court, So that was pretty special. And that’s what we want. We want to generate more talk about this team and it’s early days.”
Stewart added 12 rebounds and shot 6-of-9 from three-point range. Jones finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and Vandersloot had 11 points and eight assists.
Former first-round pick Sabrina Ionescu had an impressive night of her own, putting up nine points, dishing out eight assists and pulling down six rebounds.
It was a drastic change from the season opener on Friday when New York lost to the Washington Mystics by 16 as the Liberty looked like a seasoned unit in the emphatic win. Sunday’s game was never close as the Liberty dominated wire to wire against a Fever team that had come into the game ranked last in the WNBA’s power rankings and had a league-worst 5-31 record last season.
The Liberty opened the game with a 12-2 run with Jones, Stewart and Vandersloot all hitting consecutive buckets for New York in the first 2:30 of the quarter. Stewart’s first bucket of the game, and first in a Liberty uniform at Barclays Center, came off a 25-foot three to put New York up 5-0.
Give her 👌!!!! Stewie's 1st Barclays 🪣† pic.twitter.com/0JvuDM6nkm
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 21, 2023
Stewart had four made baskets from beyond the arc in the first quarter alone and led by as much as 22 points after hitting three free throws after she was fouled while going for a late first-quarter three.
The Liberty continued their offensive assault on the Fever in the second quarter with Ionescu putting up six of her nine first-half points in the second period. New York also extended its largest lead to 29 in the second when Ionescu knocked down a three with 45 seconds remaining in the half.
New York’s largest lead of the afternoon was 32 points, which came in the second half.
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