Breanna Stewart concern mounts: Liberty star’s WNBA playoffs status is unknown originally appeared on The Sporting News
The New York Liberty do not know yet whether two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart will be available for Game 2 of their first round series against the Phoenix Mercury — and the franchise’s star players are expressing concern about the All-Star forward’s status moving forward.
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“The vibes during the postgame press conference (were not) celebration (or) happiness,” the New York Post’s Madeline Kenney said Sunday. “There was a clear seriousness upon JJ (Jonquel Jones), Sabrina (Ionescu) and Sandy (Brondello) sitting at the podium.”
Stewart’s injury occurred with 3:01 remaining in overtime of an intense Game 1, in which the Liberty scored a 76-69 win over the host Mercury. Stewart collided with Phoenix forward Satou Sabally on an and-one opportunity, crumpling to the court and grabbing her left knee.
It is the second knee injury Stewart has suffered this season. On July 26, Stewart suffered a bone bruise in her right knee during a game against the Los Angeles Sparks; she went on to miss 13 games.
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“The camera panned at one point to Stewie teary-eyed on the bench,” Kenney said. “When I talked to (point guard Natasha) Cloud after the game, she said too ‘we don’t know what’s wrong, we don’t know how serious it is.'”
Stewart scored 18 points in the win as the defending WNBA champions put themselves in position to eliminate the Mercury back at Barclays Center on Wednesday. But the unknown around Stewart, a two-time WNBA champion who is among the greatest players of her era, will loom over the Liberty as they try to reach a third successive semifinal.
“At the end of the day, they just hope she’s okay, and ‘next man up’ mentality if there needs to be a change at some point,” Kenney said.
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