TORONTO — Breanna Stewart’s standout performance in Berlin helped Team USA secure its fifth straight World Cup medal.
Since then, she has continued to look nearly impossible to stop.
Stewart was at her best Sunday, scoring a game-high 27 points in the New York Liberty’s 106-69 rout of the Toronto Tempo before sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
New York held an eight-point advantage at halftime, but Stewart turned the game into a runaway with a dominant third period.
She sank five straight shots while scoring 14 points in the quarter. Her only miss came on a desperation attempt from nearly half court as the shot clock expired.
Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu went to the bench with 2:46 remaining in the third quarter, and Jonquel Jones followed soon afterward.
After the trio helped the Liberty build a 21-point lead entering the fourth, New York’s front-line stars were rewarded for their early work. The rest of the roster finished the game, including recently signed developmental player Madison Scott, who made her season debut.
Stewart played just 22 minutes, two days after spending 38 minutes on the floor in a statement victory over the Minnesota Lynx.
Coach Chris DeMarco said the team would continue monitoring workloads. Sunday marked the opening game of a back-to-back and the second of four contests in six days, with the playoffs approaching.
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Stewart led Team USA in minutes during the Berlin tournament. Leonie Fiebich also carried a heavy workload for Germany, which finished fourth.
“We understand it’s playoff time, and these games matter,” DeMarco said before the game. “Some players will play a little bit more, but we have to monitor Stew coming out of Team USA and the World Cup and how she’s feeling, and everyone else … Teamwide we’re looking at it.”
The Liberty established control from the opening tip, moving the ball effectively in the first quarter and recording eight assists on 10 made baskets.
Their offense lost its rhythm during a second-quarter stretch, however. New York missed six consecutive shots as an 8-1 Toronto run trimmed the lead to four.
The Liberty regained their momentum late in the quarter and carried an eight-point advantage into halftime.
Ionescu, who has struggled to find consistency this season while dealing with a nagging back injury, was unable to get her shot going in Toronto.
She missed all seven of her attempts in the first half.
Even without her scoring touch, Ionescu contributed in other ways, finishing with nine assists.
The Liberty remain in the fight for playoff position and now return home for two games against the Atlanta Dream. A pair of victories could lift New York as high as fourth place and secure home-court advantage in the opening round.