NFL
By: Sameer Kumar
Breanna Stewart powered a New York Liberty spurt in the third quarter of their 100-82 win over the Portland Fire. She scored 11 of her team’s 31 points while helping hold the opposition to just 16 points.
The Liberty has gotten off to a fast 3-1 start. Their one loss came to the Fire on Tuesday.
With the Liberty out in Portland for an extended stay, New York’s two-way superstar knew something needed to change to avoid dropping to .500 before heading home.
Stewart generated most of her success moving off the ball, whether it was relocating behind the 3-point line, cutting off screening actions, or freelancing in the painted area waiting to go to her signature turnaround fadeaway jumper.
Stewart finished the game with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and seven rebounds.
Adjustments Liberty Made
The Liberty struggled to generate much success on second and third actions in their previous meeting against the Fire. Of course, that’s a recipe for a stagnant offense.
There are times that Stewart has to scratch and claw her way through contact to try and will her team to victory when the ball movement is lacking, and her teammates aren’t hitting the open shots created by Stewart’s gravity.
That strategy has sometimes worked against inferior opponents, largely due to Stewart’s ability to get to the free-throw line. However, that strategy should best be utilized as a break in case of an emergency rather than insanity doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
Overall, though, the Liberty’s ball movement looked a lot better in the second game of the back-to-back set. They dished out 32 assists to 12 turnovers compared to 23 assists to 18 turnovers in the previous game.
Limiting the turnovers proved to be pivotal, allowing the Liberty to set their defense and limit easy points in transition.
Breanna Stewart is the Glue
It’s not often that a team’s best player is the glue guy or woman, but that’s exactly what Stewart is.
This is a player who won two championships with the Seattle Storm and four National Championships with UConn. Put simply, Stewie knows a thing or two about winning.
She can score in a multitude of ways, defend multiple positions, and be the emotional leader of a team nightly.
If a clean bill of health is afforded to the two-time MVP this season, perhaps she could add a third such trophy to her collection.
However, her ultimate goal likely remains bringing another championship trophy to the Big Apple.
