Breanna Stewart lifted her right arm and waved it up and down like an airplane experiencing turbulence to describe the Liberty’s first 27 games.
“There was moments where it’s like shock,” Stewart said Wednesday night. “You’re like, ‘Well, what the f–k are we doing here? Why is this happening?’ ”
But after winning two consecutive games — both by the power of Sabrina Ionescu’s hot hand, stifling defense down the stretch and a team resilience that had typically faded in other close battles — Stewart said the Liberty (15-12) have reached smooth air.
“Now we’re kind of like leveling out a little bit,” said Stewart, who flattened her arm parallel to the floor. “And we’re like, if this is gonna be us, and this is what we’re gonna do, and not too high or too low… and we’re not looking too far ahead, we’re just looking at the next game.”
Stewart and Jonquel Jones will be heading to Chicago to represent the Liberty during All-Star weekend.
Ionescu will be notably absent after she said she didn’t receive an official invite to defend her 3-point contest title and didn’t get an All-Star nod for the first time since 2021 because injuries kept her out for most of the first five weeks of the season.
Whether the WNBA All-Star break is coming at the right time for the Liberty depends on whom you ask.
On one hand, the Liberty have finally garnered some momentum.
They won back-to-back games for the first time in more than a month, showing immense restraint and a high level of execution down the stretch in each victory.
Ionescu has finally found her footing, scoring 115 points over the past five games.
This stretch includes two epic late-game takeaways.
the Sky. Michelle Farsi/New York Post
Jonquel Jones has notched a double-double in six of the last seven games.
Stewart, as tired as she may be from carrying this injury-riddled team for most of this season, has been on an incredible tear, averaging 26.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists this month.
She’s also shooting 35.3 percent from deep over the past five games for the first time in what feels like a long time.
Then again, maybe the Liberty really need this break in the schedule.
Pauline Astier seems to have hit the proverbial rookie wall.
Stewart could also use a break (though how much downtime she’ll get after earning her eighth All-Star selection isn’t quite known).
The Liberty remain without Satou Sabally (concussion) and Leonie Fiebich (left foot) and no one knows when they’ll be back.
Entering this week, the Liberty looked dead in the water, losing eight of 10 games, the worst such stretch since 2022.
the Wings. Michelle Farsi/New York Post
The Liberty’s season could be marked by incredible highs and remarkable lows.
The Liberty rattled off a season-long eight-game winning streak in early June and won the Commissioner’s Cup.
Then they started losing and looked all out of sorts without two key wings.
Winning in Dallas and then again Wednesday against the pesky Chicago Sky provided a sense of relief for New York, which enters the All-Star break seventh in the standings.
“It’s not over,” Stewart said. “The hardships and the struggles that we’ll go through this season aren’t over.”
At least they get a little respite from the troubles that may await them the rest of the season.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
