Breanna Stewart sets franchise mark in second game with Liberty
Prized offseason pickup Breanna Stewart shined in her first home game with the New York Liberty Sunday against the Indiana Fever, posting a career high in points while setting an impressive franchise mark.
Stewart recorded 45 points, breaking the Liberty single-game record for points, passing Cappie Pondexter, who set the previous mark (40 points) in 2010, also against the Fever.
Stewart scored half of the Liberty's points in a 90-73 victory, but the two-time Finals MVP was also remarkably efficient on Sunday. In only 30 minutes of action, Stewart shot 15-of-21 from the field and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, adding a game-high 12 boards.
The 28-year-old's 45-point outing tied Elena Delle Donne for the seventh-highest-scoring game in WNBA history. Stewart sat out the fourth quarter against the Fever, coming up eight points short of the league record of 53 points set by Liz Cambage in 2018.
In the offseason, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft left the Seattle Storm, signing a one-year, $175,000 contract with the Liberty. After six seasons with the Storm, Stewart explained what it meant to play in front of the Barclays Center fans for the first time.
"It feels like I made the right decision," Stewart said via the WNBA.
A four-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion, Stewart and the Liberty hope Sunday's victory is the first of many on their home floor this season as the franchise remains on the hunt for its first league title.
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