Points Pleasant: Stewart Sets Scoring Record in Narrow Liberty Win
Mere days before the NFL season kicks off, New York and Dallas engaged in a thrilling professional athletic battle on Tuesday night at College Park Center.
For the time being, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty stands as the all-time leading single-season scorer in WNBA history, passing Diana Taurasi's effort in 2006. In a narrow 94-93 victory over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night.
Pairing a 10-rebound night with her fourth 40-point game of the season, extending her own undisputed WNBA record, Stewart stands as the current single-season scoring leader with two games to go. She'll continue to battle Seattle's Jewell Loyd and Las Vegas' A'ja Wilson for ownership over the final tally's top mark.
Tuesday's visit to North Texas was a landmark of sorts for the Liberty (31-7), who won their seventh consecutive game. The post-All-Star slate began with a 10-point loss to the Wings on July 19 in Brooklyn but the team has gone 17-2 since then. As it stands, they're one game behind Las Vegas for the top seed honors on the WNBA playoff bracket. Both teams have two games left on their docket.
The Liberty's latest victory was far from easily earned: Dallas (20-18) refused to let New York pull away, as they had a chance to clinch homecourt advantage in the opening round of the approaching postseason. Primarily sustained by interior-induced double-doubles for Natasha Howard (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Teaira McCowan (12 rebounds, 11 points), Dallas never let the Liberty lead by more than eight and harbored narrow leads through the penultimate minute.
Brandon Todd, NY Liberty
Despite a strong scoring effort from Satou Sabally, whose Dallas-high 27 points bolstered her Most Improved Player Case, Dallas fell just short of earning a second win against New York. The Liberty had just enough to stave off an Arlington upset bid, as a defensive effort paced by Betnijah Laney held Arike Ogunbowale to a 1-of-7 shooting effort over the last 20 minutes after she was 5-of-8 in the opening half.
Laney also continued her scoring pace on the offensive end, as her 22 points marked her third double decalogue this season and her 11th double-figure over the past dozen games. Elsewhere in the New York box score, Courtney Vandersloot had a double-double of her own with 16 points and 10 assists while Sabrina Ionescu had five points and three assists in her return to the starting lineup after sitting out the last two games due to precautionary health reasons.
Stewart, however, was the star, strengthening her MVP case in historic fashion. Though her most notable contributions probably came from the foul line ... where she sank the Taurasi-passing and game-winning tallies ... she came up big in the form of 23 points and eight rebounds over the final 20.
Held in check by Laney and Co. in the second half, Ogunbowale is two points short of joining the 800 club. In more Tuesday history, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello tied Van Chancellor for the seventh-most wins in Association history at 211.
The Liberty will close out the 2023 regular season with a couple at home, a pair that begins on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Sparks (7 p.m. ET, YES App/Amazon Prime Video).
