Breanna Stewart supplied 26 points and 12 rebounds to record one of the three double-doubles by a Liberty player on Tuesday night as New York rolled to a 94-74 victory over the visiting Dallas Wings.
New York (24-4), which has already clinched a playoff spot, cruised to its seventh straight win despite playing without guard Sabrina Ionescu (neck).
Ionescu’s absence didn’t seem to phase the Liberty, though, as Stewart got plenty of help from Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot. Jones finished with 23 points and 12 boards, while Vandersloot collected 15 points and 11 assists. Reserve Kennedy Burke chipped in 13 points for New York.
Satou Sabally led Dallas (6-21) with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a 5-of-8 showing from 3-point range. She was playing in her second game of the season after missing time due to a shoulder injury.
Arike Ogunbowale added 17 points and six rebounds for the Wings, who also got 13 points and nine boards from Natasha Howard.
The game was tied at 10 midway through the first quarter, but the Liberty then went on a 16-6 run over the remainder of the frame to grab a lead that they would never relinquish. Stewart scored 10 points in the first quarter and added 12 more in the third.
Dallas pulled within 41-37 on a Jacy Sheldon jumper with 2:24 left in the first half. But a 16-4 New York spurt bridged the second and third quarters to give the Liberty some breathing room.
A Vandersloot jumper extended New York’s lead to 57-41 with 7:21 to go in the third. The Liberty went on to lead by as many as 22 in the fourth.
New York outshot the Wings 45.9 percent to 37.9 percent from the field for the game.
The teams will face each other again on Thursday night in New York.
–Field Level Media
