Breanna Stewart is going to try to tough it out.
The Liberty forward revealed Wednesday morning before Game 2 of the team’s first-round series against the Mercury that she has a sprained MCL in her left knee.
Stewart, who wore a gray leg sleeve while going through the Liberty’s shootaround in the morning, said she will be able to play through the injury and her availability going forward is a question of pain tolerance.
On a scale of 1 to 10, the two-time MVP said she was feeling a 3.
She is officially listed as questionable for the Game 2 at home, but said she plans to play.
“With injuries, there’s probably always a chance [of re-injury], so I’m willing to take that because I want to be out with my team,” Stewart said.
Stewart went down with 3:01 remaining in overtime of the Liberty’s Game 1 win on Sunday in Phoenix. As she drove to the basket for a baseline layup, her left knee appeared to buckle as she lept in the air.
She immediately fell to the ground, grabbing her knee with a grimace of clear pain on her face.
“What I felt in that moment scared me more than anything,” Stewart said. “I’m very happy to have gotten my MRI results back and I can know that it’s something that I can play through depending on how much pain I want to feel.”
Stewart was thankful to have two days in between Game 1 and Game 2 at Barclays Center to recover as much as she could to hopefully be on the court.
The Liberty are back in Brooklyn for Game 2 on Wednesday night (Sept. 17) — and Post Sports+ will be there to toast the big game and watch along. Join us at The Beer Garage at 412 Douglass St. — only a few blocks from Barclays Center — starting at 6 p.m. to pregame with us. All Sports+ subscribers will get a drink on us!
The Liberty have a chance to close out the first-round series on Wednesday. If they do, they would have three days to rest before the best-of-five semifinals series kicks off, which would beneficial for Stewart.
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Health and availability have been the theme of the Liberty’s title defense season, and the team nearly found themselves in a not-so unfamiliar situation heading into Game 2.
Still, there is uncertainty around how much Stewart will play, and with that comes bench players taking on larger roles.
The Liberty will be looking for more than just two points their reserves scored in Game 1, when they were bested by the Mercury’s bench with 21 points.
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