Breanna Stewart Injured in Liberty Playoff Game
The injury bug was an unwelcome stowaway on this New York Liberty playoff run.
New York took a 76-69 decision from the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of their best-of-three opening round set with the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday, which marked the tip-off of WNBA Playoff action. Alas, the triumph was marred by the loss of star forward Breanna Stewart, who endured an apparent knee injury during the overtime session at PHX Arena.
Stewart was injured with a second and three minutes remaining in the fifth period, making contact with Satou Sabally on a foul charged to the latter. Stewart stayed down after landing and was in apparent distress as she tried to gather herself. She stayed the game to shoot her free throw, which she missed, and later exited for the final time at the next stoppage, with Kennedy Burke coming in with 2:07 remaining after a Phoenix turnover. Had Stewart left the game without taking her awarded foul shot, she would not have been able to return by rule.
Over the rest of the game, Stewart adorned a knee brace on the Liberty sideline and continued to look emotional. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello was relatively mum on Stewart's status after the game, saying she had no medical update and that Stewart would undergo an "evaluation."
"She asked me to sub her out there, and she looked uncomfortable, so that was the reason we took her out there," Brondello said of the immediate aftermath in her postgame report. "We'll just be hoping that she'll be okay."
Sunday's win gives the Liberty a chance to procure advancement in front of their home crowd, as Game 2 will be staged on Wednesday night at Barclays Center (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Liberty dropped three of four regular season meetings to the Mercury this season, but their lone win in that bunch was the only one to feature the proverbial "big three" of Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones.
Stewart had 18 points in Sunday's win, second-best on the team behind Natasha Cloud, while also pulling in six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Her point tally allowed her to pass Vickie Johnson for the most postseason point in Liberty franchise history.
The three-time WNBA champion and two-time MVP was one of several major seafoam stars to miss extended time due to injury this season, previously sitting out of 13 summer games with a bone bruise on her knee.
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.