Breanna Stewart will miss four games for the Liberty, Madeline Kenney reported via X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. Stewart managed to "avoided significant injury" after the team's game against the Sparks and will travel with the team as they face off against the Wings, the Lynx, and the Sun.
Unfortunately for the Liberty, Stewart will not be available for the team's first game against the Lynx, which is already set up to be a showdown. Both teams are leading their respective conferences and are giving every indication that fans should be prepared for a repeat of last year's Championship Game — winner to be determined.
Stewart left the game against the Sparks three minutes after taking the court. Despite that short, stint, she managed to add three points and a rebound before being forced to exit. Stewart previously hit only six points against the Mercury (though did contribute eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and two steals.
This also marks the first time Stewart has missed games all season. The Liberty has also contended with the injuries of Kennedy Burke, Leonie Fiebich, and Jonquel Jones.
A Liberty-Lynx rematch seems almost inevitable
At this point in the season, it feels very likely WNBA fans will experience a rematch between the Liberty and the Lynx at the end of the season. While both teams have strong challengers in their respective conferences — the Mercury are contenders in the West, and the Dream are making a strong case for themselves in the East — the Liberty and Lynx are dominating, which makes this Thursday's game between the two teams all the important.
The Liberty recently welcomed back Jonquel Jones
The return of Jonquel Jones has been a huge boost for New York. Most of the team's losses this season happened while she was out, so (yesterday's match against the Sparks aside) it's safe to assume that as long as Jones is on the floor, the Liberty stand a strong chance of beating nearly any team out there. The team was missing an average of 12.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game each time Jones was MIA.
New York will also boast the most lethal roster in the league once Emma Meesseman is officially Stateside. Meesseman, who won a WNBA Championship with the Mystics in 2019, is expected to arrive in the United States once she's cleared the visa process