Welcome to Stew York: Breanna Stewart shows her MVP form in Game 1 after disappointing Aces series last year

NEW YORK — Courtney Vandersloot is at the point where she expects massive postseason performances from Breanna Stewart. Fans, foes and opposing scouting reports all do as well. It is what the two-time WNBA champion and four-time NCAA champion does.

Except last season when Stewart couldn’t find her shot and failed to lead the postseason field in scoring for the first time in her three playoff appearances that went past the first round. The offseason came earlier than usual for Stewart, who had up to that point never lost a championship game she played in at the NCAA or WNBA level. In her first season with the New York Liberty, she watched the Las Vegas Aces clinch the title on the Barclays Center court.

“I think I’ve just kind of grown from it,” Stewart said. “I had a tremendous, unfortunately, a lot of time to reflect about last year’s postseason and where can I be better and how to kind of just handle things collectively better. But with that, I don’t forget who I am and what I can do. And making sure every opportunity I get, I’m going to continue to be better.”

Redemption is on her doorstep. The Aces are back in town for a WNBA Finals rematch in the semifinals, and Stewart underlined why it’s dubbed “Stew York” with a 34-point performance in the 87-77 Game 1 victory. She was an efficient 12-of-19 and added five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

“This is Stewie doing Stewie, to me,” Vandersloot said.

It was the first time she scored at least 30 in the postseason in a Liberty uniform after nearly averaging it in six playoff games with Seattle in 2022. Her last postseason 30-piece came against that Aces group in Game 4 of the semifinals during Las Vegas’ first championship season.

But against Las Vegas in the Finals last year, she averaged 16.3 points per game while shooting 17.6% from 3. Her two 3s on four attempts Sunday were double the number she had in any 2023 Finals game. Her total was also the most she’s scored against the Aces in a Liberty uniform, besting a 23-point showing in the 2023 regular season.

“Stewie’s gonna have to be great for us to win this series, and she knows that,” said Vandersloot, whose third-quarter bucket snapped a 12-0 Vegas run that cut the deficit to six. “She can handle that and carries it well.”

Stewart carried a lot both on the court and off it last year. Her father-in-law, Josep Xargay, died days before the Finals tipped, and her wife, Marta Xargay, was expecting their second child. Theo was born seven days after the Aces clinched Game 4, joining daughter Ruby, who was born via surrogate in August 2021.

Between the lines, she was and remains the superstar of All-Stars brought together to bring a WNBA championship to New York. Full stop. The Liberty are the only original franchise to have not won it all despite four appearances prior to Stewart’s time. Stewart, whom the Storm selected No. 1 overall in 2016, is the home-state kid who grew up nearly six hours away in North Syracuse. She teased her first free agency via emojis on social media, eventually crossing coasts to join Vandersloot, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.

Jones, an MVP center still chasing her first title, told Stewart during the offseason not to be so hard on herself. Everyone could have been better.

“Of course, we love when she has the games that she has tonight,” said Jones, whose double-doubles (13 points, 12 rebounds in Game 1) are a key for the Liberty to unlock wins. “But ultimately, it shouldn’t just fall on her to have 30-plus points every game for us to win. We have so many other people that can step up and that we need to give her a little bit of relief every now and again.”

The Liberty lacked the chemistry of playing together last year, and the Aces used that to their advantage in last year’s Finals. Trust has been the word of this second season together, and it was clear in a wire-to-wire victory Sunday. The Liberty assisted on 22 of 30 baskets, and when Stewart hit the bench with a fourth foul, Jones came back in while Ionescu took over the offense.

Ionescu scored 10 of her 21 points in the final 10:15, including two of her three 3s. The 30-footer that pushed the lead back to 13 brought Barclays alive, and she pointed at Spike Lee sitting courtside next to Liberty co-owner Claire Tsai.

The Aces cut the deficit to eight with 2:13 left and successfully challenged a foul call on Alysha Clark that would have sent Ionescu to the line. The Liberty huddled around head coach Sandy Brondello.

“What Sandy said was [to] continue to put the ball in Sab and my hands, especially down the stretch, and for us to kind of make plays,” Stewart said.

Jones won the tip, and Stewart scored back-to-back buckets to seal the win. Her last banked in off a floater at 1:12, and she blocked Kelsey Plum, the Aces’ high scorer with 24 points, on the other end for good measure.

Stewart’s 20 first-half points were one shy of her 2023 Finals game high against the Aces. Within the first quarter, she passed Lisa Leslie for the longest streak of double-digit scoring performances in postseason history (35 games). She tied Angel McCoughtry for the most 30-point playoff games (six), trailing Diana Taurasi (eight).

“I think that we’re seeing kind of the work that she put in in the offseason and the mentality that she’s going into this series and this playoff run,” Vandersloot said. “We’re definitely seeing it on the court.”

Vandersloot won a championship playing with Candace Parker in Chicago. Taking accountability for last postseason is exactly what a superstar MVP does, she said, and Stewart has done it with grace.

“She performs at her best when the lights are bright,” Vandersloot said. “And that’s something we saw tonight.”