Breanna Stewart scored 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out seven assists, and the host New York Liberty pulled away for a 98-77 win over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night.
Stewart made 10 of 15 shots from the field and added four blocked shots as part of her dominant performance for New York (15-6), which won its third game in a row. Sabrina Ionescu finished with 15 points and nine assists, and Natasha Cloud scored 14.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting to lead Indiana (12-11), which saw its four-game winning streak end. Sophie Cunningham contributed 12 points.
New York shot 57.8 percent from the field (37 of 64) and 51.9 percent from 3-point range (14 of 27). Indiana shot 36.8 percent overall (28 of 76) and 25 percent from deep (8 of 32).
Indiana played without All-Star Caitlin Clark, who was ruled out shortly before tipoff because of a groin injury. It marked the 11th game, including the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final, that she has missed because of injury this season.
The Liberty built a 32-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. Isabelle Harrison sank a 3-pointer and Ionescu made a basket in the final minute to complete their 16-8 run.
In the second quarter, New York outscored the Fever 21-14 to increase their lead to 53-38 at the break.
Kennedy Burke made a 3-pointer to give the Liberty a double-digit lead at 39-28 with 7:04 remaining in the first half. Burke’s shot was part of a 15-4 run as New York increased its advantage to 49-32 on Rebekah Gardner’s basket with 1:35 left in the half.
Indiana kept it closer in the third quarter but still was outscored 21-19 to fall behind 74-57 entering the final 10 minutes.
The Liberty pulled ahead by 20 points when Nyara Sabally knocked down a jump shot to make it 81-61 with 6:36 to play.
New York rested Stewart, Burke and other key players in the final five minutes with the score well out of reach for the Fever.
–Field Level Media
