Sportsnaut
Breanna Stewart scored 23 of her 28 points in the first half as the host New York Liberty never trailed in an 89-71 victory over the short-handed Phoenix Mercury on Sunday in Brooklyn.
The Liberty (7-3) won for the third time in four games as Sabrina Ionescu sat with a hamstring issue that is not considered serious.
After shooting 1-of-14 in Tuesday’s loss at Atlanta, Stewart notched her seventh 20-point game this season. Stewart shot 7-of-13, grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds for her seventh double-double and handed out seven assists.
Jonquel Jones added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Liberty, who controlled the glass by a 39-27 margin. Marine Johannes started for Ionescu and added 10 points as New York shot 48.4 percent.
Sophie Cunningham scored a season-high 27 points for the Mercury (2-8), who were without Britney Griner (hip) and Diana Taurasi (hamstring).
Moriah Jefferson added 11 as the Mercury (2-8) lost for the sixth time in seven games and played the second half without Michaela Onyenwere after she was struck in the face colliding with Jones in the second quarter.
Stewart scored 13 points as the Liberty held a 30-17 lead through the opening quarter. New York scored the game’s first seven points and Stewart scored eight straight points for a 19-10 lead with 4:35 left.
Phoenix made progress by getting within 35-27 on a basket by Jefferson with 6:26 left. A 16-footer and a 3-pointer by Stewart on consecutive possessions keyed an 18-7 run over the remainder of the half to give New York a 55-34 lead at intermission.
Courtney Vandersloot’s 3-point play gave New York its first 20-point lead at 62-42 with 4:01 remaining. The Liberty carried a 69-50 lead into the fourth.
Cunningham scored Phoenix’s first nine points of the fourth to get the Mercury within 72-59 with about seven minutes left, then hit another 3-pointer with 6:41 left to make it 72-64. The Liberty finished it off in the final two-plus minutes as Johnanes hit a 3-pointer for an 82-67 edge with 2:50 remaining.
–Field Level Media
