Breanna Stewart puts Liberty on brink of first WNBA title - ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS — Breanna Stewart sat on the bench in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the WNBA Finals on Wednesday, her team down two points. The New York Liberty had clawed back from a 15-point first-quarter deficit, largely thanks to a superb 30-point night from Stewart.

Before the Liberty returned to the floor against the home team Lynx and their 19,521 fans eager to see Minnesota return to its championship glory, Stewart emphatically delivered a simple message before the timeout ended.

«We are not going to f---ing lose this game.»

«I could feel it,» Stewart said of the moment. «You could feel the momentum was shifting to our side. It [was] like, if we are going to be this close, we are not leaving here without this win.»

The Liberty brought Stewart's plea into fruition.

Behind 11 points in the final 2:10 from Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones — capped by Ionescu's 28-foot 3-pointer to win the game — New York secured a 80-77 comeback victory to move within one win of clinching the 2024 WNBA title.

And while Ionescu's final shot might be the lasting image from the game, the Liberty — who are chasing the franchise's first championship — would have been on life support without Stewart's monster night on both ends of the floor.

The two-time WNBA, four-time NCAA champion and two-time WNBA MVP finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks, making her the only player in league history with multiple 30-10 Finals performances. She is also the only player to have a 30-point Finals game for two different franchises, her previous one coming with the Seattle Storm.

«We don't win this game without Stewie,» Ionescu said. «What she was able to do, just continued to chip away… that [game-winning] shot's nice but that doesn't go