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    • Liberty’s Breanna Stewart and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton star in the WNBA finals
    New Jersey

    Liberty’s Breanna Stewart and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton star in the WNBA finals

    Seren Anwen Posted on

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    NEW YORK – Breanna Stewart had to complain.

    “It’s time,” the New York Liberty forward said just minutes after leading her team to an 80-66 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, a victory in which she Scored 21 points, eight rebounds and a career-high seven steals.

    She wasn’t referring to the much-needed victory, a specific official call or the fact that New York set a record attendance of 18,046 fans.

    No, she called her college coach, Geno Aureimma, the 11-time national champion widely considered the greatest of all time.

    “I texted him and said, ‘You know, it’s about time you came to my game,'” Stewart said as the press snickered. She shook her head in mock disgust. “I’ve been here for two years and he hasn’t come down! What are you doing?”

    After the game, while holding her 3-year-old daughter Ruby on center court, Stewart told ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe that she felt the need to give Auriemma a good show since he finally decided to put his face at Barclays Center to show.

    Also on the sidelines for Game 2: C. Vivian Stringer, the first NCAA coach to lead three different teams to the NCAA women’s basketball Final Four. She last did that in 2007 with Rutgers – and four years later, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was playing for Stringer and the Scarlet Knights. (Stringer retired in 2022.)

    After scoring a season-high 20 points, Laney-Hamilton smiled and said whenever her college coach was in the building, she wanted to make her proud.

    Laney-Hamilton’s performance, while she continues to battle a right knee injury, got Stringer up a few times, and who could blame her for being so excited – especially when Laney-Hamilton was in the game Started 4-4 from the field, which helped the Liberty build a lead of as many as 17 points.

    “I was happy to be able to play well in front of her,” said Laney-Hamilton, who scored in double figures for the first time since Sept. 22 — New York’s first playoff game of 2024. She also recorded two assists and one steal.

    “It gives me a little momentum as we continue to go through the series,” she said. “I struggled physically and mentally while going through everything, so it felt really good to get a glimpse of what I’m capable of.”

    So which other Liberty college coaches are coming to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4?

    Sabrina Ionescu quickly answered that question in the press conference, saying her college coach Kelly Graves of Oregon would be at the Target Center on Wednesday. That means the Liberty can likely expect a big game from Ionescu and guard Courtney Vandersloot, who played for Graves at Gonzaga.

    “You’re all welcome,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said with a laugh.

    Sunday was a classic Stewart performance, and in fact she didn’t need her college coach on the sidelines to cheer her on.

    Stewart is a three-time Olympian and two-time MVP for good reason. After a fourth-quarter (and overtime) fiasco in Game 1 – which included a missed Stewart free throw at the end of regulation that would have won the game – Stewart said: “The moment the game on Thursday night ended, I was looking forward to Sunday.” .”

    She played like that too.

    Stewart had two big scenes, both in the second half.

    At the end of the third quarter, she picked up two straight fouls on Liberty possessions, hit two free throws in the second quarter, parried a Lynx shot at the other end and then scored on a runner, giving New York a 61-53 lead with 61:53 remaining 55.8 seconds, which stalled Minnesota’s momentum.

    Your other section might have been even more impressive.

    With a two-point lead of 66-64 with 5:36 left, Stewart recorded two consecutive steals on Minnesota possessions and refused to allow the Lynx to tie or take the lead. New York finished the game with a 12-0 run over the final 3:21, which included a timely corner kick by Laney-Hamilton and an offensive tip-in by Stewart.

    Given Laney-Hamilton’s season, her performance might have been even more impressive than Stewart’s. It was definitely grittier.

    In July, just before the month-long Olympic break, Laney-Hamilton underwent minor knee surgery and returned to the Liberty at the end of July. It plagued her all season and was in obvious pain at times. Brondello said at the start of the series that Laney-Hamilton wasn’t 100% even after the surgery.

    On Sunday, she praised her toughness.

    “She dug deep,” Brondello said, “and that’s what we needed.”

    Stewart agreed.

    “I think what B brings is that grit, that toughness… we all know she gives us what she’s got.”

    “We know she can do it and we’re excited that she’s finding a good rhythm despite everything that’s been up and down this season, and we know she’s a big part of everything we do.”

    Laney-Hamilton wouldn’t take credit for a percentage of her health and declined to go into details about the treatment. She said only that the Liberty “did a little bit of everything to try to make me feel good.”

    Apparently it works. But just to be safe, they should probably invite Stringer — and Auriemma — on the charter to Minneapolis, too.

    Email Lindsay Schnell at [email protected] and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

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    Seren Anwen
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