After winning the 2024 WNBA championship, the New York Liberty didn’t show any signs of a championship hangover. They began the season by jumping out to the second seed but have fallen to fifth since losing superstar Breanna Stewart to a knee injury. The two-time MVP will finally return to the court, and head coach Sandy Brondello couldn’t be happier.
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The last game Breanna Stewart played was on July 26 against the Los Angeles Sparks. Just three minutes into the game, while running back on defense, Stewart pointed to the bench, indicating something was wrong. The injury turned out to be a bone bruise in her right knee.
New York endured 13 games without their star forward and struggled, to say the least. They went 5-8 in those games. If anyone had doubts about Stewart’s impact on the New York Liberty, her absence proved them wrong.
“She’s our best off-board defender. She allows there to be switching,” Sandy Brondello said while speaking with the media. “She can do a lot of things.”
Stewart’s absence left an average of 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists off the board. The Liberty have seven regular-season games remaining to finish the year off strong. But they aren’t throwing Stewart completely into the fire just yet.
“Now it’s just about building her up. She’s on a minutes restriction, so got to be smart out there as well,” Brondello revealed.
Brondello had her hands full during Stewart’s absence. “It’s been a hard slog without her,” the Liberty coach admitted. However, that stretch is in the past, and the team learned a lot about themselves through that adversity. The vibes are back to being high, and Stewart is leading the charge.
“With this team, anything is possible,” Stewart revealed to Geoff Magliocchetti.
It won’t be an easy feat to climb back up the standings, but if anyone can do it, Brondello believes it’s this specific group. “We just have to win. It’s like a best-of-seven series now,” she said.
The Liberty have a relatively easy schedule remaining with three of the four games against teams under .500. A strong conclusion to the season could provide the necessary momentum to fuel another deep postseason run as they look to defend their title.
