In New York’s 86-99 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Friday, Breanna Stewart alone scored 16 points to give the Liberty a 26-22 lead. However, the Lynx kept it competitive with Olivia Miles leading the charge, and even Stewart had to resort to some physicality as the Lynx narrowed the gap to 49-47. With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, one rough move sent Miles to the hardwood.
Miles initially came down the paint to score a three-foot two-pointer, but Stewart, masterfully, blocked it. The Minnesota rookie got the offensive rebound and made a play to Nia Coffey. She missed her 25-foot three-pointer, and Stewart, who hung around Miles, got the rebound near the paint. The Liberty forward then turned with her elbows out, striking Miles square in the jaw.
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An X handle @SnapshotKyle shared a glimpse of this play, as the cameras perfectly captured the game’s highly physical nature. The officials immediately blew the whistle and handed Stewart an offensive foul, resulting in a turnover.
However, an official time-out with 2:49 remaining in the second quarter prevented the Lynx from making anything out of the turnover. In the very next offensive play that Minnesota made, Kayla McBride missed an 18-foot pull-up jump shot. The Liberty capitalized from there, finishing 10-2 from that point in the quarter.
Stewart’s play on Miles made quite a stir on social media. Netizens have continued posting highlight plays from the game as Breanna Stewart scored 36 points to become the player with the third-most 30-point games behind A’ja Wilson (43) and Diana Taurasi (54).
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Besides Stewart’s elbow, a total of 28 combined fouls were called in the game, comparatively low given the WNBA officials’ stricter approach to calling fouls this season.
Nevertheless, for Miles, this wasn’t the only concerning moment in the game. The No. 2 draftee had to be subbed off early in the fourth quarter due to fitness issues. In the post-game presser, head coach Cheryl Reeve cited cramps as the reason for this early substitution, per beat writer Andrew Dukowitz.
Even during her time on the court, Olivia Miles couldn’t get into her groove. Behind Liberty’s defensive players like Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, Miles scored 14 points in 26 minutes. She went just 5-for-16 from the field and made zero three-pointers.
All in all, it was a game in which Miles got schooled by the league’s veterans. In short, it was also a matchup where most of the elements didn’t go the generational rookie’s way.
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