New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart made history on Thursday during the game against the Atlanta Dream, when she became the fastest player to reach 500 points in the WNBA franchise history.
The Liberty beat Atlanta, 95-84, in a game where Brianna Stewart dropped 33 points while recording 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Forward Jonquel Jones also contributed 19 points of her own and secured 13 rebounds.
New York has now won eight out of its last 10 games while also currently riding a four-game winning streak. In addition, they have now improved to a record of 3-1 against Atlanta this season. It marks the second-straight season that New York has won a regular-season series against Atlanta.
“I think you see the connections that we know through the good and bad, we’re staying together as a team,” said head coach Sandy Brondello. “We’re working; we’re finding ways to work it out. And it doesn’t mean it’s always 40 minutes of pure beauty. You got to learn from those experiences.”
Liberty wasted no time setting the tone early in the first quarter. They were able to pull off an 18-0 run early in the game. Stewart made an incredible layup shot that set the run in motion. Atlanta was able to respond, with a 12-4 run from the 1:35 mark of the first, to 7:48 of the second quarter.
The Liberty closed the first half of the game with a 15-point lead.
Atlanta began the third quarter on a 10-2 run that was started by shooting guard Allisha Gray’s 3-pointer, inching them closer to Liberty, 59-52. Gray finished the night with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
The fourth quarter was better for New York, as the players were able to separate themselves from Atlanta, thanks to that 11-3 run that lasted through at least the 7:22 mark of the final quarter.
New York finished the game shooting 48.5% from the field while also managing to hit 11 of 31 3-pointers (35.5%). They also managed to hit 90.9% from the free throw line while going 20-22.
The Liberty will wrap up its four-game homestand on Friday when they take on the Minnesota Lynx.
