Breanna Stewart wants the smoke.
She wants the responsibility of helping deliver a championship, which is why she was brought to New York in the first place.
The two-time WNBA MVP and two-time league champion doesn’t need to be reminded that she was a key factor in the Liberty’s historic giveaway defeat in Game 1 of the Finals, missing a crucial free throw at the end of regulation and then a potential game-tying layup at the end of overtime for a staggering 95-93 loss on their home court to the Minnesota Lynx.
Stewart and the top-seeded Liberty are staring now at what feels like a must-win in Game 2 on Sunday at Barclays Center before the best-of-five series shifts to Minnesota.
“I’m pissed off about it,” Stewart said after practice Saturday in Brooklyn. “But perspective is I want to be taking these shots. I think what really is kind of driving and motivating me is we have an opportunity to change it. I have an opportunity to change it.
“We’re addressing it, facing everything head on, and taking accountability from all actions. And that’s why we’re pros. S–t happens, and now what are we gonna do?”
The Liberty built an 18-point lead in the second quarter of Game 1, squandered all but two of that cushion, then led by 15 with five minutes to play.
WNBA teams had been 183-0 in that scenario in postseason history, but the Lynx stormed back to grab an 84-83 lead on Courtney Williams’ converted four-point play with 5.1 seconds left in regulation.
Stewart was fouled with under a second remaining and sank the first free throw for the tie before clanking the second to force overtime.
She also missed all three of her field-goal attempts in the extra session, including a layup in traffic as time expired to finish the game 6-for-21 from the floor.
All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu also missed 18 of 26 attempts, and starting forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton had another quiet game with five points on 2-for-7 shooting for the Liberty.
“Look, Stewie didn’t lose the game,” coach Sandy Brondello said Saturday. “It’s no one’s fault. It’s all of our fault and no one’s fault, in that regard.
“This is sport, so it hurts. But Stewie’s fine. We’ll still go to her. Nothing’s changed. She had high-percentage shots. She got there, you know what I mean? It’s not the end of the world. That’s the key thing. She’s still one of the greatest players of all time. Just because she missed a free throw, it’s not the end of the world. We have another opportunity to be better tomorrow.”
Brondello and Stewart both stressed that the Liberty must play with “better pace” than they did in the second half and OT in Game 1 in order to even the series.
“We’re all kind of yearning for another opportunity to change the outcome of what happened on Thursday,” Stewart said. “I think we’ve shaken it off. Like, it’s one game. We know this is a series. And we know we have another amazing crowd coming on Sunday to help us get back in the right direction.
“We want to get this franchise the first-ever championship. And you don’t do that by just only doing the easy things, just saying the easy things. This is the WNBA and nothing is a cakewalk.”
Stewart, who won two titles with the Seattle Storm earlier in her career, added that she received encouraging text messages from league legends such as Sue Bird and Nancy Lieberman and “a decent amount of people in my friends circle” following Game 1.
“They were just saying, ‘Bounce back.’ Because I am who I am, this is why I’m in the position that I am. Good, bad or indifferent,” Stewart said. “One game isn’t going to reflect what I do. That being said, obviously I’m like, ‘WTF.’ I’m trying not to say that anymore because I have kids, but I think that’s it.
“I want to be in these positions and being able to take accountability and ownership in that. So I’m onto the next. Whatever happened, I’m moving forward. Because this is a series and my team needs me. I feel like I want to be the one bringing that mindset and mentality that we need to get after it in Game 2, and we’re not focused on what happened in the past.”
