Liberty's Breanna Stewart Vows to Be Better
BS refused to BS after the New York Liberty's latest defeat.
Breanna Stewart didn't mince words in a Sunday self-assessment staged shortly after the Liberty dropped a 79-70 decision to her former employers, the Seattle Storm. The defending champion Liberty has dropped six of its past nine after winning its first nine.
While acknowledging the continued lack of reigning WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones, who is set to miss her seventh consecutive game with an ankle injury, Stewart acknowledged her own role in the early summer swoon on Sunday.
"I thought I got downhill, like I had a lot of room attempts and attacks, but, yeah, it could be better." Stewart said after a 4-of-17 outing from the field. "I think I just sucked today, and I can say that I have no problem with that. I just got to get my head on the rim, finish some shots. Not getting to the free throw line at all is kind of tough, so making the refs have to really kind of call something and dictating, embracing the physicality a little bit [will be huge]."
Stewart was able to overcome some shooting struggles (namely a three-point success rate that sits under 20 percent) early in the year and has respectably held her own in the interior with Jones ailing. It was enough to earn yet another invite to the WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, where she'll be joined by fellow champions Sabrina Ionescu and head coach Sandy Brondello.
But the Liberty (12-6) have fallen behind early in games thanks to an excess in opposing points in the paint, forcing them to make nightly comeback efforts. To Stewart's other point, Sunday marked her first game game without a free throw since last August and only her second in the last season-plus.
New York continues to a carry a cool demeanor sans Jones, heartily welcoming back fellow lost starter Leonie Fiebich to the fold last week as an eight-game homestand tipped off. Another opportunity to get back on the right awaits in part three of the sags on Tuesday night against three-time MVP A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Stewart kept those feelings rolling in her comments, even while shifting the spotlight to her recent shortcomings, by praising the shot set-ups that the Liberty was able to find despite not getting them to fall.
"When shots aren't falling, [I have to focus on] still being in the game and affecting it offensively and defensively, knowing, no matter what I'm going to get, like, people are gonna know where I am on the court," Stewart said. "[I have to] be able to find my teammates. We missed some shots, but, but those are the same looks that we're gonna get, and next time we're going to make them."
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.