Breanna Stewart scored 21 points as the New York Liberty survived some sluggish moments on offense and pulled away down the stretch for an 84-70 victory over the host Phoenix Mercury on Monday night.
The Liberty (26-5) won for the ninth time in 10 games after seeing their eight-game winning streak end with Saturday’s 72-64 setback against the Connecticut Sun. New York also avoided losing consecutive games for the second time this season and moved three games ahead of Connecticut in the race for the WNBA’s No. 1 seed.
Courtney Vandersloot added a season-best 16 points, including a 3-pointer and a 19-footer on back-to-back possessions for a 64-55 lead early in the fourth, when New York began pulling away.
Jonquel Jones chipped in 15 points and Sabrina Ionescu contributed 13 as the Liberty shot 41.4 percent overall and made 10 of 15 shots from the field in the final period.
Brittney Griner scored 12 of her 22 points in the fourth to lead all scorers, but Phoenix (16-15) committed 22 turnovers for the game. Natasha Cloud added 18 points and Kahleah Copper finished with 14 as the Mercury shot 46.3 percent from the floor and scored 46 points in the paint but also went 5-for-22 from 3-point range.
Stewart scored 11 points in New York’s sluggish opening half but contributed a 14-footer during a 10-0, fourth-quarter run for the Liberty. Ionescu added a floater and a 3 during the spurt, which turned a 64-57 lead into a 74-57 advantage with 5:03 left in the game.
Despite Ionescu’s baskets seemingly securing the win, Phoenix hung around and trailed 75-68 after Griner’s hook shot with 2:52 remaining. New York locked up the victory with 95 seconds left when Jones sank a jumper from the foul line for a 79-68 lead.
After entering halftime in a 38-38 deadlock, the Liberty grabbed a 50-45 edge on Ionescu’s pullup jumper with 6:20 to go in the third quarter. New York expanded its lead to 56-49 on two free throws by Stewart with 2:47 left and held a 59-53 lead heading into the fourth.
–Field Level Media