Some say friendships between championship rivals at the pinnacle of any sport end up in the dumps. Napheesa Collier had an off night by her standards in Game 2 of the 2024 WNBA final. The Defensive Player of the Year was handed a taste of her own medicine in the Minnesota Lynx’s 66-80 loss against the New York Liberty. But it stung slightly more than usual because it came from her trusted aide – Breanna Stewart.

Collier and Stewart’s history goes back to the not-so-old days of UConn. As teammates, they guided the Huskies to the 2016 NCAA championships, a feat they repeated in the Olympics that year to earn gold. They are also co-founders of Unrivaled, a 3v3 women’s basketball league that’ll kick off its inaugural season in January 2025. Naturally, they know each other’s personalities and basketball tendencies in and out.

In Game 2, only Stewart was able to translate all that knowledge to cramp Collier for room and shut the Lynx’s powerhouse. Though Collier scored a team-high 16 points, Stewart’s defense didn’t allow her to build momentum, and she ended the game with four fewer shots and five points short of her Game 1 performance. Post-game, the Liberty star gladly described how her plan to guard her close friend succeeded.

“When Phee’s dribbling up, it’s not just without any pressure. Obviously, knowing her tendencies, she wants to go left, go over the right shoulder. Like, she’s going to pump fake a million times,” the 2023 MVP told reporters. “So staying down and continuing to make her take tough shots that she doesn’t want to take.”

Stewart’s defensive heroics played a pivotal part in sinking Minnesota. She recorded 8 rebounds, a career-high 7 steals, and 1 block to make the Barclays Center come alive. But it wasn’t as if she hadn’t warned Collier of this elevated game before Game 2.

Breanna Stewart’s pre-game warning to Napheesa Collier

The ebbs and flows of Game 2 were quite similar to Game 1. Similar to Thursday’s 18, the Liberty took their biggest lead to 17 on Sunday night. Moreover, the Lynx yet again closed the gap to a 2-point game. However, this time around, Laney-Hamilton’s second-half valor (20 points) and Breanna Stewart’s 21 points were enough to extend the lead again.

Stewart was a woman on a mission. “I couldn’t wait to come back and change the narrative,” she said pre-game, referring to her Game 1 failure. She also specifically addressed her relationship with Napheesa Collier to declare that it was game on.

“We’ve done a lot together, both on and off the court. But when we step out there in the finals, we’re putting that all aside,” the Liberty Guard said. “We’re friends, business partners, former teammates. But now we’re enemies. And when that ball tips, it’s all about winning.”

With the series now level after equally impressive performances from both teams, the 2024 trophy can land in either team’s cabinet. Now, we also have a rough idea of which players are contending for the WNBA finals MVP award. The picture will be much clearer when New York loses home-court advantage in Game 3 on Thursday night.