Breanna Stewart helps New York even WNBA Finals series as Liberty beat Lynx in Game 2

Breanna Stewart wasn't going to let history repeat itself.

With the Minnesota Lynx making another fourth quarter run, the two-time league MVP refused to let the New York Liberty lose again.

Stewart scored 21 points and had a WNBA Finals record seven steals to help the Liberty beat the Lynx 80-66 on Sunday in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.

Bridget Carleton of Chatham, Ont., posted eight points, three assists and four rebounds for Minnesota. The 27-year-old is competing in her first WNBA Finals after playing in the post-season with the Lynx in 2020, 2021 and 2023.

Just like Game 1, New York built a double-digit lead in the first half, only to see it evaporate. This time they didn't completely collapse, holding on to even the series 1-1 as it shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Wednesday night.

"The moment the game ended Thursday night I was looking forward to Sunday to change things, change the narrative a little bit," Stewart said. "Be the same I was and be obviously better."

Minnesota was down nine early in the fourth before getting within 68-66 on Courtney Williams' layup with 3:40 left in the game. Those were the last points Minnesota would score.

"Our offence was bad at a time when we really needed it. Our pace was slow," Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. "Taking too long to get into things, and you know, I don't think we were terribly hard to play against from that standpoint. And that was obviously a difficult time to be doing that."

New York clamped down defensively and converted offensively. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton started the game-closing 12-0 run with a 3-pointer in the corner. Stewart's putback with 57 seconds left gave New York a double-digit advantage. She missed a free throw with 0.8 seconds left in regulation of