Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is not herself. She has been absent for most of the season. Laney-Hamilton underwent knee surgery in July and has since made a full recovery. She returned to the game after the Olympic break, but even now, in the WNBA Finals, she is not at 100%.

But if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know.

You wouldn’t know it because Laney-Hamilton drove to the basket and completed free-throw line jumpers with ease in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday. You wouldn’t know it by watching her knock down corner three-pointers and fly past defenders like they were cones lined up for a practice drill.

You wouldn’t know it because it’s the WNBA Finals, and after a loss in Game 1, the Liberty needed Laney-Hamilton.

So she stepped forward.

“She brings that grit and toughness,” Breanna Stewart said. “And we all see that she gives us what she has.”

Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points in Game 2 as New York defeated Minnesota 80-66 to even the series. She was 8 of 14 from the field and 4 of 6 from distance.

“She digs deep, and that’s what we needed,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “We needed a boost and B helped us win the game.”

Before Sunday’s competition, Sandy Brondello wasn’t sure what to expect from Laney-Hamilton. She has scored in double figures only once in the playoffs – with 10 points in a first-round win over the Dream – and in Thursday’s loss to Minnesota, Laney-Hamilton had just 5 points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Laney-Hamilton is also normally a strong defender, but on Thursday Brondello had to shut her down during key stages of Minnesota’s 18-point comeback. Laney-Hamilton played just 26 minutes in overtime, the fewest of any starter.

“She wasn’t moving very well,” Brondello said Saturday. “She’s playing. She gives what she can. I think everyone can see that it’s not the same B that we’ve seen all season, but it is what it is.”

On Sunday she looked like the same B, the real B.

Laney-Hamilton kept the Liberty scoring consistently, preventing the team from collapsing in Game 1.

The Liberty led by as many as 17 players, but the Lynx made another comeback. With 3:40 to play, Courtney Williams made a layup that cut the Liberty lead to 68-66. Minnesota spent the second half slowly increasing the Liberty’s lead, but this time New York managed to put an end to the comeback.

Laney-Hamilton was one of the main reasons for this.

After Williams’ layup, Sabrina Ionescu drove to the basket and found Laney-Hamilton in the corner. As soon as she passed, Ionescu knew it was going in.

“A corner 3 for B is like a layup,” Ionescu said. “That was a big hit for us and changed the dynamic of the game.”

The shot was the start of a 12-0 run for the Liberty that secured the win.

The shot and her overall performance not only gave the Liberty the momentum they needed to secure the win, but it also gave Laney-Hamilton the momentum she needed to advance in the series.

Her knee injury has been sore since her surgery and aggravated again in a game against the Aces a month ago. It was a challenging road to recovery, but when Hamilton saw her 3-pointer go through the basket late in the game, she finally felt like herself again.

That feeling was reinforced by hugs from teammates after the buzzer and being presented with the game ball in the Liberty locker room.

“It felt really good,” Laney-Hamilton said. “Because I know I struggled physically while I was going through everything. Getting a first taste of what I’m capable of felt really good.”