Brianna Stewart Names Liberty's Weak Link Without Hesitation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 11:21 PM ET

With a record now of 9-0 following a drubbing of the Chicago Sky in Brooklyn on Tuesday, the defending-champion Liberty appear to be a team without flaws. The final was 85-66, but the reality was that New York never trailed in the game and held a lead that swelled to as much as 34 points.

New York joined the Lynx with a nine-game winning streak to start the year, and in the early going of this WNBA season, it certainly appears as though there are two teams, followed by everyone else. And even within that pairing, the Liberty look like the better team, with only two games (at home vs. the Valkyries and on the road in Indiana) that qualify as close.

The Lynx's average margin of victory is an impressive 10.7 points. The Liberty, though? It's 19.8 points.

But after the game against the Sky, star forward Breanna Stewart was asked by ESPN's Scott Van Pelt whether New York had any weaknesses--a fair question, considering what a wrecking ball the team has been thus far.

As Van Pelt put it, "You guys are kind of a machine right now, it seems to me."

Stewart shot right back. "Just our rebounding," she said. "Defensive rebounding, we always know we can do better at. Chicago beat us on the boards tonight. And we've got to just continue to keep stepping up without (Jonquel Jones)."

Jones missed Tuesday's game with an ankle injury.

The Sky did outrebound New York, 37-29, and the Liberty gave up 10 offensive rebounds. Heading into Tuesday's game, though, the Liberty were fifth in the WNBA with 36.5 rebounds per game.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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