“We don’t win this game without Stewie,” Sabrina Ionescu stated about her teammate Breanna Stewart after her exemplary performance during Game 3 of the WNBA Finals recently. While everyone acknowledged that Ionescu’s three-pointer got them ahead, it was Stewie who built the base for the Liberty to execute their skills before the final buzzer. And this isn’t just one game where she has done it. In fact, in both the wins against the Lynx, she has lived up to the expectations. Therefore, an ESPN analyst chose to point out the Lynx’s failed strategy against the Liberty.

On Friday’s episode of the podcast Good Game with Sarah Spain, Cindy Brunson shared her take on this year’s WNBA Finale series and how Stewie has helped her team take the lead.

“Well, you don’t stop her. You hope that you can absorb what she puts up and then limit those around her. I think that, that is the game plan that Minnesota has tried to use in this series. What I think they didn’t expect was how much of a defensive impact Stewie would end up having. She had 7 steals, a WNBA record in the game 2 win, and 3 of those steals came in the fourth quarter. In Game 3, to take a 2-1 series lead, Stewie scored 14 points in the third quarter to get her team leveled. And then provided another 8 when it was closing time in the fourth quarter to go along with half of her blocks in the night 2. Stewie is etching her name on the MVP Finals trophy right now. All the Liberty have to do is to help her secure that last win,” Brunson stated on the podcast.

The 30-year-old was always known for her offensive prowess but it’s her defensive that has grabbed all eyes. She had 5 steals in Game 2 against the Lynx that helped them limit the on-paper better defensive team, while they showed their offensive calibre. Even in Game 3, Stewie had four blocks that instantly provided relief for the New York-based team. Overall, Stewie averages 25.5 points with 10 rebounds per game in the two games they have won in the Championship series. And this has been detrimental to Cheryl Reeve’s strategy.

Reeve has time and again tried to control those around Stewie, which has failed as the 2× WNBA champion has performed to her best while also making passes to her teammates whenever the Lynx blocked her path. Plus, the Championship Series has 5 games, played in a 2-2-1 format and the Lynx could have secured a home win during the third game, which they failed to do. However, Reeve feels that the referees have been lenient towards Stewie.

Cheryl Reeve blames the referees for Breanna Stewart’s performance

When Stewie had an exceptional night with 30 points and 11 rebounds during game 3, Reeve couldn’t ignore the fact that 10 of her points came from the free-throw line. The 30-year-old had a perfect 10-out-of-10 which did improve the Liberty’s score. However, Reeve feels that the whistle was uneven.

“She got fouled. She was asserting herself in that way. The game’s called differently for Phee than it is for Stewie, for sure… for whatever reason, we have a hard time getting to the foul line in this series,” Reeve expressed after the game. Meanwhile, Napheesa Collier had just 3 free throws which was considerably less in comparison to Stewie, who scored almost 50% of the team’s 45 points during the second half.

Hopefully, the Lynx will make sure to contain Stewie and also make the most of home advantage. On the other hand, the Liberty’s fans would be hoping for another on-song performance from Stewie which ends with her clinching the third WNBA title.