Breanna Stewart tied a season-high with 33 points as the host New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks Saturday 98-88 at the Barclays Center.
Sabrina Ionescu had 24 and Kayla Thornton had 20, including a career-high six threes for the Liberty (14-3) who never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 23 points.
In the first half, Stewart became the first player in WNBA history with at least 20 points, five blocks and five assists in a single half when she notched 24, five and five. She had 19 of her points in the second quarter, the most for any Liberty player in one quarter this season. She also tied her career high with six blocks for the game.
It was the second win for the Liberty over the Sparks in the last three days. New York won 93-80 on Thursday. Los Angeles (4-13) has now lost six in a row and is 2-9 in its last 11 games. The Liberty have won 10 of their last 11. They have beaten the Sparks seven straight times.
New York started the game on a 17-8 run capped by a three by Ionescu, giving her 42 straight regular season games with a made three, the longest active streak in the WNBA.
The Sparks charged back and led 28-21 early in the second after a three by Stephanie Talbot.
After five points in the first quarter, Stewart checked in with 8:26 left in the half and scored nine straight points for the Liberty, including back-to-back threes to give her team a 34-33 lead. New York led 54-44 at halftime and added to the lead in the third quarter.
Dearica Hamby led the Sparks with 20. Zia Cooke had a season-high 14 off the bench for LA. The Sparks pulled to 93-83 with 3:06 remaining but missed threes on their next two possessions.
In the game, the Liberty made 16 threes while the Sparks made eight. New York entered the game leading the WNBA with an average of 10.2 made threes a game.
Queen Egbo made her debut for the Sparks after signing a contract earlier in the day. She wore the No. 44 for the Sparks with white duct tape on her jersey blocking out the nameplate. Egbo is in her third year in the WNBA. She was waived by the Connecticut Sun June 5. She had two points.
–Field Level Media
