Breanna Stewart set a new WNBA scoring standard on Sunday by leading the New York Liberty in a rally past the Atlanta Dream to extend the best start in franchise history.
Stewart scored 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals in New York’s 81-75 victory. In the second quarter, she scored her 5,000th career point, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to do so.
She reached the threshold in her 242nd game, beating previous record holder and WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi, who scored her 5,000th point in her 243rd game. She also moved into 25th place on the all-time scoring list in her eighth WNBA season.
Liberty, Stewart bounces back from slow start to secure milestones
Stewart and WNBA-best (15-3) Liberty started slowly at home against a 7-9 Dream team. Atlanta opened a 24-10 lead and finished the first quarter with a 24-13 lead. Stewart scored New York’s second bucket of the game and then missed six straight shots as Atlanta took control early.
With 8:10 left in the second quarter, Stewart made a floater off an assist from Sabrina Ionescu. The bucket earned her 5,001st career point and cut the Dream lead to 28-15. Atlanta extended its lead to 31-15 on a 3-pointer by Alisha Gray, but New York began to crumble from there.
Stewart scored nine points in the second quarter as New York cut Atlanta’s lead to 41-36 at halftime. A 17-2 run by New York spanning the second and third quarters gave Liberty a 44-43 lead with 7:00 left in the third quarter. Back-to-back 3s by Stewart extended that lead to 52-45 late in the third quarter.
Atlanta cut the New York lead to 60-59 at the end of the quarter, but never regained the lead. The Liberty finished the game on a 21-16 run and improved to 16-3 to extend the best start in franchise history with the league’s best record.
Four Liberty players scored in double figures. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds while hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers. New York overcame a poor shooting day from Ionescu (3 of 17, 2 of 11 from 3, 10 points) to secure the win. Gray led Atlanta with 24 points in the losing effort.
The Liberty was a finalist in the WNBA last season, but now has a 1.5-game lead over the Connecticut Sun (14-4) at the top of the Eastern Conference.
