Breanna Stewart's injury putting Liberty's championship hopes in jeopardy

The New York Liberty's chances of repeating as WNBA champions seem to be dwindling, especially now that an injury is hampering star forward Breanna Stewart. 

Stewart — a two-time league MVP — left Game 1 of the Liberty's first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Mercury after spraining the MCL in her left knee. She still opted to play in Game 2 in New York on Wednesday night.

"They told me structurally that everything looks OK," Stewart said Wednesday morning, via Field Level Media. "So my plan is to go." 

The sharpshooter struggled to play through pain. In 20 minutes, she had just six points on 2-of-6 shooting and committed three turnovers. With no one else stepping up for the Liberty, the Mercury coasted to an 86-60 victory, tying the best-of-three series at 1-1. 

Momentum is on Mercury's side heading into Game 3

The Liberty won Game 1 76-69 in overtime, but Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts indicated his team would've won the game had it shot the ball better. Phoenix went 25-of-77 (32.5%) from the field in that matchup.

The team made more of those shots on Wednesday night. Phoenix finished 34-of-71 (47.9%) from the field. The Liberty, meanwhile, sputtered offensively. They committed 15 turnovers and shot 19-of-63 (30.2%) from the field. 

But even more concerning for the Liberty, their other stars failed to deliver. Guard Sabrina Ionescu had nine points on 3-of-13 shooting, and center Jonquel Jones had seven on 3-of-9 shooting. This highlights a worrisome trend for New York.

The Liberty's other stars have gone cold in the playoffs

Through two games in the series, Ionescu has averaged 12.5 PPG on 29% shooting after logging 18.2 PPG on 40.1% shooting in 38 regular-season games. Jones has recorded seven PPG on 37.5% shooting in the series after registering 13.6 PPG on 49% shooting from the field in 31 regular-season games. 

The series will head back to Phoenix for Game 3 on Friday. If Stewart can't get healthier before then, the Liberty's championship hopes may be kaput.