“Hello, Brooklyn. It’s nice to be home,” Breanna Stewart said before her home debut with the New York Liberty.
She backed up the sentiment, scoring a franchise-record 45 points in her first game at Barclays Center as a member of the team in front of a crowd of 8,575 fans. The record performance also marked the first time a WNBA player has scored 40 or more points in their home debut with a franchise.
She added a team-high 12 rebounds to secure the double-double in the 90-73 win against the Indiana Fever.
A NEW YORK FRANCHISE-RECORD FOR BREANNA STEWART IN JUST HER SECOND GAME WITH THE LIBERTY‼️ pic.twitter.com/VZcJbbMM1Q— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 21, 2023
A NEW YORK FRANCHISE-RECORD FOR BREANNA STEWART IN JUST HER SECOND GAME WITH THE LIBERTY‼️ pic.twitter.com/VZcJbbMM1Q
“It was really important to play like this in my debut,” Stewart said after the game. “Because I want people to be here and I want them to come back, and I want more. I want more of everything. And yeah it sounds selfish, but as a women’s basketball player, as a female athlete, we need to continue to get recognized for more in media coverage and fans and eyes and viewership.
“Hopefully I made a few [good] first impressions on some people, and I hope they come back and they come back with more.”