WNBA: Liberty keep winning, despite Stewart’s 3-point shooting slump

One week after falling to the Minnesota Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship game, the New York Liberty exacted revenge. Buoyed by the Barclays Center crowd, rather than the surroundings of UBS Arena, the Liberty used an 18-8 fourth quarter, which included a 15-0 run, to wrest control of the game and defeat the Lynx, 76-67.

If only New York’s players received a portion of a $500,000 prize pool for the victory. Alas, they’ll have to settle for padding their league-leading record of 17-3.

The play of Jonquel Jones, named an All-Star for the fifth time in her career later on Tuesday night, proved determinative in swinging the result in the Liberty’s favor. After failing to make a shot from the field and scoring only three points last week, she turned in an efficient 21-point and 12-rebound double-double.

What’s up with Stewie’s shooting?

Jones’ effort helped compensate for another subpar shooting night from Breanna Stewart, who also earned an All-Star honor—her sixth—on Tuesday. She was a frigid 5-for-20 from the field, using a 7-for-8 performance from the line to find her way to 17 points. She matched her point total with 17 rebounds, a reminder that, for as a prolific of a scorer as she is, Stewart can impact winning in a multitude of ways.

Nevertheless, an 0-for-5 performance from behind the arc—the eighth time this season she has failed to make a 3-pointer in a game—is a cause for concern. It’s not another Commissioner’s Cup or the best regular season record that motivates the Liberty; it’s a title. And to secure the first championship in franchise history, they need a peak version of Stewart. She wasn’t that in last year’s Finals, going 3-for-17 from downtown in four Finals games. As Robert Mummery recently analyzed for The Her Hoop Stats Newsletter, the shooting slump that appeared to afflict her throughout last year’s playoffs—as she shot less than 20 percent from deep across 10 playoff games—has continued into this season; Stewie’s 3-point percentage currently sits at a career-low 25.3 percent.

During ESPN’s broadcast of the Liberty’s game against the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, LaChina Robinson, Chiney Ogwumike and Carolyn Peck mentioned that Stewart had indicated that she had made some adjustments and was confident in her stroke. Stewart went 3-for-7 from long-range, helping the Liberty come back and defeat the Dream, 81-75. She also surpassed 5,000 career points against Atlanta, becoming the fastest player to reach that milestone in league history.

But, Tuesday night suggests Stewart’s shot still isn’t there yet. Luckily for the Liberty, there’s plenty of time for Stewart to regress to her career norm of almost 36 percent. However, the high likelihood that she’ll play significant minutes for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics means that fatigue—one of Mummery’s hypotheses for Stewart’s unprecedented slump—could be something Stewart and New York will have to manage as they prepare for a championship push.

Sab’s stellar June

Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images

Sabrina Ionescu, in contrast, just polished off the best month of her career. On the same day she was voted an All-Star for the third time, she also was named the WNBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month for June.

Tasked with heavier offensive burden due to the extended absence of Courtney Vandersloot, Ionescu shined, expertly balancing the roles of playmaker and scorer. She averaged 19.8 points and 7.4 assists per game, both of which are month-best marks for her career. She also continued to light it up from long range, draining 37.4 percent of her 8.3 3-point attempts per game.

Those numbers even include her ice-cold performance against the Dream on the final day of June, when she was just 3-for-17 from the field as she finished with 10 points and four assists. On Tuesday, Ionescu again struggled to get it going from behind the arc, shooting just 1-for-10 from 3; however, she utilized her improved 2-point scoring package to work her way to 17 points, along with tossing five assists.

What’s next for New York?

Winners of five-straight regular-season games, the Liberty will look to extend their streak on Saturday, July 6, visiting the Indiana Fever for the fourth and final matchup between the two teams (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Thus far, New York has owned Indy, cruising to a three wins over Caitlin Clark and company. The Liberty then will be off until next Wednesday, July 10, when they head to Uncasville to take on the Connecticut Sun, currently second in the league standings, for a matinee matchup (11 a.m. ET, League Pass). In the first game between the two teams on June 8, New York handed Connecticut their first loss of the season, 82-75.