Breanna Stewart pours in 32 points to help Liberty rout Storm
SEATTLE – After six years in Seattle, Breanna Stewart left in January 2023 via free agency, but in many ways she still owns the Storm.
Once again, the New York Liberty star forward beat her former team 98-85 Friday night to extend her win streak to six in a row versus the Storm.
In her only appearance at Climate Pledge Arena this season, Stewart reminded the crowd of 15,800 — the fourth largest regular-season home crowd in franchise history — of her brilliant stint with Seattle that included two WNBA championships.
Stewart scored six of her game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter when the outcome was still undetermined.
“It’s an incredible atmosphere, especially when Seattle is going on a run,” Stewart said. “I miss it here and appreciate the fans whether they are for or against me.”
The Storm received a spectacular performance from Skylar Diggins-Smith, who had 26 points and seven assists while Jewell Loyd added 20 points and Nneka Ogwumike chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds.
Seattle began the game with a 6-0 lead, but neither team was able to create much separation in a first quarter highlighted by seven ties and lead changes.
New York, which led 27-26, momentarily pulled away with an 11-0 run to start the second quarter. Stewart drilled a corner three-pointer that put the Liberty on top 38-26 and minutes later sank a driving layup to go ahead 40-28.
Seattle finished the period with a 23-9 run that included a couple of Diggins-Smith dribble-drive layups and three-pointers from Loyd to take a 51-49 lead into the break.
The Storm shot 55% from the field in the first half and would have held a larger lead if not for Stewart, who led all scorers with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting at intermission.
New York outscored Seattle 25-20 in the third quarter to go up 74-71 to start the fourth.
The Storm fizzled in the final frame as Stewart and the Liberty pushed the pace.
New York guard Sabrina Ionescu, who finished with 25 points, provided the play of the game when she fell after missing a layup, gathered the rebound while on her knees and flipped in a shot over Ogwumike that put the Liberty up 87-77.
Seattle, which is 2-4 since returning from the Olympic break, fell to 19-12. Despite the loss, the Storm clinched a playoff spot and is tied with Las Vegas for fourth in the standings with nine games remaining.
The latest loss caps a three-game homestand for the Seattle, which starts a difficult three-game road trip Sunday with a pair of games against the Connecticut Sun.