Breanna Stewart could not be contained Sunday night, and she made WNBA history in the process.
The New York Liberty star scored 42 points to help her team to a 100-89 win over the Indiana Fever. The victory set a franchise record for wins in a season with 24, with the team having won six games in a row and 10 of its last 11.
For Stewart, the win marked her third 40-point game this season. She also scored 45 points against Indiana on May 31 and 43 points against the Phoenix Mercury on July 5. She becomes the first player in WNBA history to score at least 40 points three times in the same season.
HERSTORY 🔥🔥🔥@breannastewart is the 1st player in @WNBA history with 3 40-PT games in a szn.
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) August 13, 2023
STEW YORK CITY FOR MVP🤩🗽#SYCforMVP pic.twitter.com/9h5FhLDGwt
Stewart is also just the third WNBA player to reach the 40-point mark three times in her career, joining Diana Taurasi (four times) and Maya Moore (three).
Alongside her big-time points total, Stewart had six rebounds and six assists. She is the first player in league history with multiple games of 40 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“I was getting some good looks,” Stewart said, noting that she felt like she locked in during the first quarter. “They were switching a lot, just continuing to read what the defense gave me. And that kind of just continued throughout [the game]. I’m really happy with how we all played, in general.”