Liberty's Breanna Stewart struggles in Game 2 loss with knee injury

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NEW YORK (AP) — After much speculation about her condition, Breanna Stewart was on the court Wednesday night for the Liberty in Game 2 of their first-round series.

After she struggled through an 86-60 loss to the Phoenix Mercury, the Liberty need a win Friday to keep their WNBA title reign alive.

Stewart finished with six points, two rebounds and two assists in her first game since spraining the MCL in her left knee the series- opening game Sunday. Wednesday's performance was a far cry from the 18 points and six rebounds she had in that Game 1 victory.

“It probably became more of a mental barrier than a physical one,” Stewart said of her Game 2 performance. “Obviously everyone knows what I'm dealing with, but the good part about today was I was able to test it, I was able to see how I felt.”

She said her knee felt “pretty good." But Phoenix's physicality did make functioning at her full capacity with the injury challenging.

“It was the physicality that was hard for her, and the screening,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “(Stewart)’s tough. She did what she could there, but hopefully, we know she's going to be a little bit better.”

The rest of the Liberty didn't have much help to offer Wednesday. They finished the night shooting 30% and only one player, Emma Meesseman, broke into double digits. She finished with 11 points.

Stewart's injury initially occurred when she drove to the baseline and was fouled with 3:01 left in overtime in Game 1. The knee appeared to buckle and she went down and grabbed it. After a New York timeout, Stewart attempted a free throw but missed it. She wore a knee brace after the injury, then came out a minute later.

“I sprained my MCL basically, that's what I felt in the moment. Scared me more than anything,” Stewart said Wednesday morning. “I'm very happy to have my MRI result back and know that it's something that I can play through depending on how much pain I'm going to be in.”

Stewart didn’t practice Tuesday.

Phoenix players and coaches weren't surprised to hear before the game that Stewart planned to play.

“We've been planning on that,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “You don't want to see anybody be injured. I'm glad it was nothing serious.”

Game 3 will be Friday in Phoenix.

Stewart missed about a month of the season with a bone bruise on the other knee, suffered in late July.

The Liberty have had a difficult season with injuries. Jonquel Jones missed significant time early in the year with a sprained ankle and Sabrina Ionescu was out for a few games late with a toe injury she suffered in practice.

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AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg contributed to this report.

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