Stewart Returns As Her New Team Wins 81-66

Breanna Stewart led the New York Liberty to another win against her former team.

(Seattle, WA) - Breanna Stewart returned to Seattle for the second time this season and once again her team walked away with the victory. The New York Liberty (11-4) dominated the first half and that was enough to come away with an 81-66 victory. They led 7-0 to begin the game and never trailed.

“I felt a lot better coming back to Seattle the second time. The first one was really emotional. I appreciate what we were able to get done in Seattle but I’m happy now to be in New York.” Stewart said after the game.

Seattle struggled offensively throughout the game. They were ineffective from the floor making just 35% (23-65 FG) of their shots. The Storm weren’t much better from beyond the arc where they connected on 36% (9-25 FG). More problematic were the team’s 20 turnovers. Jewell Loyd had six and Ezi Magbegor had five more as the Liberty threw most of their defensive attention on those two players.

I asked Coach Quinn what New York was doing to give their offense problems.

“Nothing…. They are an amazing team with amazing players. But their defense is not what we’ve seen in the past few games. The physicality, the traps on Jewell on top, we didn’t see that much. We turned the ball over way too much. If we had efficiency offensively, I feel like we could get whatever shot we want. But we just turned the ball over.” Quinn answered.

Jewell led all players in scoring with 27 points. She made six out of ten three-pointers and shot 42% overall. Three other players reached double figures. Magbegor finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Kia Nurse added 10 points and five rebounds. Sami Whitcomb added 10 points off the bench. Five other Seattle players combined for just two points total in over 61 total minutes of action.

“Jewell is playing really, really well. Nothing that anyone didn’t know. She’s making tough shots. It’s weird playing against her but I’m happy she’s playing well.” Stewart said of her former teammate.

Loyd shared her thoughts on the game.

“I think we’re growing. I think we’re better than we were at the beginning of the season. For a team like us, where we are still trying to figure things out that’s where you want to be. We understand who we are and where we are at. You’ll see some inconsistency. That’s on us to get better. It’s still a long season. It comes down to the little things, the fundamentals. I don’t think there is anything more the coaches can do.” Loyd stated.

Coach Quinn spoke about what she saw and what she learned from this game.

“The turnovers are one. Specifically, the live-ball turnovers. Being in a rush. Not being fundamental. Those are tough to handle early on against a team that has a lot of firepower. And a couple of defensive awareness. I thought our Pick-And-Roll defensive coverages were a little off. I thought we cleaned that up and were better in the second half.” Noelle said in her opening statement.

“The resiliency is there. Obviously, when we talked about it in halftime and made adjustments we were able to do that. We need to start games better. With Dulcy, sometimes I just put players in lineups and good things happen. I learned that you just have to continue to find some success on the floor with whoever can bring it. I’ve also learned that we are not a finished product and that we have a lot of work to do.” She added.

New York Liberty

Four out of the Liberty’s five starters scored in double figures. Breanna Stewart led the way with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and five steals. Stewart showed off her spectacular versatility which makes her the world’s best player.

Courtney Vandersloot wowed in front of her hometown fans. She was the only player on either side to finish with a double-double. Sloot finished with 18 points and 12 assists. The way she reads opposing defenses is a thing of beauty. She is always finding ways to get her teammates the ball and puts them in position for success.

Sabrina Ionescu added 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. And Betnijah Laney added 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Coach Sandy Brondello was pleased with her team’s overall effort.

“It shows you can’t relax. They made a run in the 2nd half… we found a way to win when they were trying to claw their way back in.” Brondello stated.

“We kept them to 66 which is a losing score. We kept them to a losing shooting percentage. I thought we executed our scout fairly well outside of a few slippages on Jewell.” Sandy added.

New York outshot Seattle 47% (33-71 FG) to 35% (23-65 FG). They out-rebounded the Storm 37-33. Most impressively was their team’s ball movement. They had 29 assists on 33 made field goals. The Liberty nearly doubled Seattle in the assist category (29-16). They also beat Seattle in what the Storm are normally best at, getting out in transition. They outscored Seattle 19-7 in fast break points and also dominated inside the paint (42-28).

Game Breakdown

Breanna Stewart scored immediately on the game’s first possession. Stewart then scored again once she got a mismatch from Seattle’s defensive switch. She had the smaller Kia Nurse on her and was able to turn around and shoot over her. Sabrina Ionescu then hit a three to put the New York Liberty up 7-0.

The Storm missed their first four shot and then turned the ball over. Kia Nurse finally hit a three-pointer nearly four minutes into the quarter.

Betnijah Laney scored on a mid-range jumper immediately after Nurse had scored. Ionescu then found Stewart galloping down the lane for another easy basket to put the Liberty up 11-3. Jonquel Jones then was able to force a jump ball and Ionescu immediately found Courtney Vandersloot in transition for two more.

Ezi Magbegor was able to get inside the paint to score Seattle’s second basket of the game. Jewell Loyd hit a three-pointer but Breanna Stewart was able to match it on the other end to double up Seattle’s score at 16-8.

Sami Whitcomb drove into the lane, she wasn’t able to score on her first drive but Jordan Horston was able to tip the ball back to Whitcomb who was able to finish with a layup.

Horston made several nice plays that may have gone unnoticed. She helped tip the ball for an offensive rebound. On the very next possession, she blocked Nyara Sabally. Then she was able to get her hands up high to force Stewart into a badly missed shot. Considering how much Stewie dominated the opening quarter that was a bright moment for the Storm.

Stewart finished the first period with 14 points, two rebounds, two steals, and an emphatic block on Magbegor to end the quarter. She completely ruled that first period. New York led 26-14 after the first ten minutes.

Marine Johannès knocked down her second three-pointer to begin the second period. Magbegor scored inside the paint and then Jonquel Jones was able to score off of a pick-and-roll. Whitcomb then was able to drive through contact and finish at the rim.

Ivana Dojkić scored on a fast drive to the rim. Vandersloot was able to score in transition on the other end. Courtney then made multiple nice offensive reads to get multiple assists and set up her teammates for easy baskets. The Liberty scored six straight to put them up by 15 points (39-24). Coach Quinn was forced to call another timeout with the Storm sloppy on both ends of the floor.

Seattle was then given a technical foul because the Storm had used up all of their timeouts earlier in the half and did not have a timeout to take. Stewart sank the free throw and then Laney got wide-open under the basket for an easy layup from the baseline out-of-bounds play.

New York led 44-27 at the midway point. The Liberty outshot the Storm 46% (18-39 FG) to 35% (12-34 FG). They were also better from beyond the arc at 36% (5-14 FG) to Seattle’s 18% (2-11 FG). NY also out-rebounded the Storm 21-16 and had a major advantage in assists at 17-5.

Jonquel Jones scored to open up the third quarter. Sabrina Ionescu hit a three to put the Libert up 22 points. Just as she did in the first half, Kia Nurse was the first to score for Seattle. Loyd hit back-to-back corner threes next to the Liberty’s bench, much to the dismay of Coach Sandy Brondello.

JJ made a beautiful pass to a cutting Vandersloot who finished with a reverse layup. Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu checked in for Seattle and was able to quickly draw a foul. She made both free throws.

Loyd made a three-pointer in the opposite corner and was fouled by Kayla Thorton. Jewell knocked down the free throw to finish the four-point play. Whitcomb then knocked down a triple to cut the Liberty’s 22-point lead down to 13 at 58-45. Coach Sandy Brondello quickly called timeout to make sure her team refocused.

Ezi then was able to reject Stewart but as Seattle tried to recover the ball, Vandersloot quickly snatched it and immediately got it back to Breanna who then finished with an AND1 layup as the Storm struggled to recover on defense.

Loyd finished with 13 points in the quarter as the Storm outscored New York by one 21-20. The Liberty still led by 16 entering the 4th at 64-48.

Jones scored again for New York to open up the final frame. Dulcy was able to answer with a layup under the rim. Seattle was able to get a few free throws and Jewell knocked down another three-ball.

A drive and short-range pullup by Sami Whitcomb cut the Liberty’s lead down to single digits at 66-57. That was the closest Seattle would be able to get. Vandersloot drove to the rim to put them back up 11.

Stewart and Ionescu made sure there would be no rally on Sunday. Stewart scored on a mid-range and Sabrina hit a three. Jewell was fouled on a three and hit all three free throws. But Ionescu was able to drive to the rim and bank a floater to put New York up 14 with 3:09 remaining.

Jonquel bullied her way under the rim for two more. Nurse was able to knock down a three-pointer but then Courtney Vandersloot made back-to-back layups. First on a beautiful assist from Stewart. And then by jumping the passing lane near midcourt where she was able to lay the ball in uncontested.

Ezi scored one more basket in the paint. Neither team scored in the final 90 seconds. Seattle lost the game 81-66.

Additional Analysis

Talent Matters

There was a brief moment during the game where I just looked at New York’s lineup and was amazed at the talent they had out on the court. All five starters have been named to at least one All-Star team.

New York has won 11 of their first 15 games this season. They have the second-best record in the league and will only continue to get better as the team develops more chemistry.

They are often winning on talent alone. But they will really become dangerous once they all fully develop into Sandy Brondello’s offensive and defensive schemes.

With all respect to Seattle’s roster, the Liberty are simply a more talented team right now. The outcome of this game wasn’t surprising.

If Stewart was still on Seattle’s roster the Storm would likely be the 2nd or 3rd best team in the WNBA. Many of their losses have been by single digits.

Seattle will need to add more pieces through the draft and Free Agency next season. Rebuilds take time and there are pieces to be excited about with the Storm’s future. They just need a little lottery luck and to draft well and they will be able to turn things around.

Ezi the All-Star

Ezi Magbegor was named to her first WNBA All-Star selection this season as an All-Star Reserve the league announced. Magbegor is averaging 15.1 PPG and 8.6 RPG per game heading into Sunday’s contest.

https://twitter.com/seattlestorm/status/1675222747579052032

“I actually found out the day before. But my teammates found out in the locker room and I think it was just special to be able to share that with them in that moment. You saw the video with their reaction. I think that’s the team we are. We show up for each other and support each other on and off the court. We share that in game situations, where people make a big play. If we get a big stop on defense. It was nothing new to me, they’re like that all the time.” Ezi said of her All-Star selection.

I then spoke with Jewell about the growth she’s seen from Ezi this season.

“Being an All-Star is something that we talked about from Day 1. That was my goal for her. Knowing she could get there, knowing that she has everything in her toolbox to be successful. That’s what we need from her for this team too. She’s been doing the work. She’s been getting better. I honestly think playing overseas helped her a lot. She came back a whole different person. Also, just time; the growth you have in yourself as a person and a player you feel more confident in this league. When you’re around people who support you. I’m her #1 fan and she knows that.” Loyd said.

I was also able to speak with Coach Quinn about what it meant to see Ezi get named to her first All-Star team, especially with the development of younger players being a priority this season.

“Amazing because she is one, deserving of it. She works extremely hard. She is a testament, we drafted her, stashed her, and she’s a champion. She had an opportunity to learn from Crystal Langhorne when she was here and her constant development. She had an opportunity last year to be a big part of our team and this year she’s taking full advantage of her opportunity. She’s working extremely hard. She continues to show her ability to shoot threes, be versatile offensively, and defensively, what she can do. I am so proud of her! Her hard work continues to show and I want other people to see it because this is just the beginning for her.” Quinn replied.

Breanna Stewart also chimed in during her post-game press conference.

“I think Ezi has learned a lot. The biggest thing with Ezi is her mindset. Doing what it takes to have a strong mental toughness. Understanding, there are a lot of plays. Some are bad but a lot more will be good. Her ability to understand will help with that.” Stewie added

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (4-12) head out on a four-game road trip. Next, they will face the Connecticut Sun (12-5) on Thursday, July 6th at 4:00 PM local PDT.

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