NFL
By: Sameer Kumar
The New York Liberty boasts one of the deepest rosters in the league.
Pauline Astier has stepped up with Sabrina Ionescu out of the lineup, and Marine Johannes has also given the Liberty quality minutes.
However, the Liberty failed to get much production from their supporting cast in their 83-75 win over the Indiana Fever, forcing Breanna Stewart to carry most of the load.
Stewart finished with 30 points on 6-of-15 shooting and nailed 18 of her 21 free throws. She also chipped in eight rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
Stewart attempted two-thirds of her free throws in the fourth quarter alone, willing her team to victory against a physical Fever team.
“Listen to me,” Stewart said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well? Like, f*** it. Honestly, we want to win games, whether they’re pretty or they’re ugly, and that’s going to be the separator down the line.
“We definitely exploited it. We wanted to really put that pressure on them, too. They want to get into the paint; they want to attack us that way. We also want to attack their hips and put the right people in action.”
Stewie’s Leadership Sets the Tone for the Liberty
The beginning of a WNBA season can present each team with a unique set of challenges.
The Liberty have had to go to war without Ionescu for most of the season, lost Natasha Cloud in free agency, and have had to adjust to new head coach Chris DeMarco.
New players learning how to play with each other is not easy, nor is it easy to adjust to new coaching schemes.
Some nights, every player is going to be connected defensively and hit all their open looks. On other nights, not so much.
But the Liberty executed when they needed to most, backed by their leader.
“Our defense really created a momentum shift for us and we really have to start the game up like that,” Satou Sabally said. “And Stewie challenged us, too, at halftime just to be the aggressor in the game and not let them dictate us. So I think we responded well.”
While Stewart ideally doesn’t have to scratch and claw her way through the jungle to help her team escape with a W, it’s still an incredible luxury to have a player who can do just that.
