NY LIBERTY POST-GAME VS SUN | BREANNA STEWART | NYLFTV | 8.24.24

uh Stewie you became the second player in WNBA history to make 500 made field goals with a team before 70 games uh joining Simone gustus um you know as you just as you just look through everything that you've done with the New York Liberty shattered a lot of Records last year and you're continuing to do this um like what's your mindset and what's your thought process you know when you sit back and just look at everything you've done thus far yeah I mean I'm obviously like over the moon being here in New York and and really representing the Liberty I think that um the records are are cool um they'll be cooler once I'm done um but I'm not aging out um um but I think that you know really credit to my teammates uh for helping me be in the position to to have the success but but also you have to look at all these records and realize you know we're playing way more games um so there needs to be some kind of Aster because the season wasn't 40 games like it was before yeah I mean I hope that um KS us kind of locked back in I think that you know it was a little bit frustrating game because last one of our three game roads or home stand and now we go on the road um and it was a little bit of controllables you know you have to give credit to to Connecticut for um making our game a little bit ugly but uh it seemed like the ball was getting stuck we weren't moving both sides you know sometimes things aren't going to go your way sometimes you know you're going to lose games but what are we going to do to control the next thing in the next day in the next game and um having that mindset and mentality to like embrace the heart you know we don't want this to be easy and like I said you know post game post Olympics like gets even harder from here because teams are really trying to to kind of do a playoff potion get to a great spot um so we need to embrace that a little bit and um what better way to do it than play Phoenix on the road she's slowly inching her way back but how does pany Hamilton perhaps change the course of this game if she's healthy enough to partake yeah I think just the way that she she's an excellent two-way player um obviously up vet and you know someone that this team relies on um and just translating defense into offense I think that you know there was times and possessions defensively where we were just late you know we we helped one time but we didn't help the next time and and consistently you know we know that she's um a force defensively Stewie Sabrina made a promise post game that you all weren't going to lose like this again so I guess how would you describe the way that you lost and I guess how are you going to make sure that even if you lose it's not going to be like this yeah I mean I think just making sure that you know no matter what we're going to we're going to always put our best foot forward and I feel like you know you could feel in the the second Dallas game like there was some slippage happening and it and it happens over the course of the season um which is why you know losing this game we need to turn it into a it's a negative and obviously turning it into a positive and realizing that you know a wake up call for everyone like we like I said I feel like I've been saying we haven't done anything um and you know we need to finish this regular season strong and um just make sure we leave it all out in the court what adjustments do you feel you guys need to kind of make you know especially going against such a strong defense and you know having 19 turnovers this game you know is definitely not the greatest um especially going on the road now to play Mercury what kind of adjustments do you feel you want to make and see going into this game yeah I mean I think that we were we were really trying to make the the Home Run play sometimes on the first side of the action I think that you know we know that if we can move the ball to the second and third side like analytically it it works out really well for us um and just continuing to play you know uh playing well off of one another and um you know when the ball is moving it's it's finding the open person I think that you know going to Phoenix obviously they play really well at home and um making sure we're locked in defensively ball screens like what are we doing schematically because um you know now now we have to go on the road and be like Road Warriors a little bit like you said this is now halfway through a 6 and 11 stretch and you're heading back to the West Coast after coming back so there's some slippage in Dallas then tonight how much of this is fatigue and how can you lock in on on just what's next yeah um I mean honestly I'm not going to give the fatigue excuse uh I think that everyone if you look at everyone's schedule right now it's it's kind of wild um we had an opportunity to be home and sleep in our own beds so um this this is the WBA and you guys know like the turnarounds are quick because you're here too um but we need to to kind of lean and rely on one another and that that means making sure that everyone's kind of resting and recovering and getting ready to go because uh it's only going to be harder you know throughout these next three something of your identity this year as a team is you're often cutting to the basket and you know teammates are finding you but it just seemed like that happened a little bit less tonight than usual what did you think was the reason for that um like us getting cuts to the basket or me specifically I mean both I mean everyone sort of feeds off of it when you guys are playing at your best yeah I mean I think that you know Connecticut did a great job controlling the the tempo and and naturally what they want to do um there was a stretch where it was like we were just settling for threes it was probably five possession where we shot a three every single time down the court and that's that's the moment where we have to have like the maturity to be like all right we need a good play where we can get downhill and even if we get into the paint and get a paint touch and then a three it's a little bit different than just a three so I was going to follow up on that and like how much of Conneticut defense was unique seeming like they not were okay with you taking threes but more focused on cutting off the paint than maybe other defenses this year like was that unique tonight or was it as you said a matter of settling yeah I mean I think that if you went through the first half both teams didn't shoot the ball well from three and probably didn't shoot the ball well the entire course of the game uh but they were really loaded up you could see it they were were packing the paint and forcing us to to make an outside shot and um you know when we played at home the last time we were hitting those threes but when we played at their home the last time we were getting downhill uh and and making sure that we can win in different ways and tonight we obviously kind of s few CH you uh know you spoke about wake up call and things of that nature you know tonight them going 48 points in the paint does this game possibly become personal and just you guys you know you going to try and make it make sure moving forward it doesn't happen again um I mean I don't think it's like going to become personal I think that you know now we finish the series with with Connecticut 3 and one and um first and foremost like happy we have won that series because if it does come down to a tiebreaker we know that we have the head-to head um but like we let Connecticut do what they do and and score points in the paint I think they had 24 at halftime and um I think uh as as post you know especially we have to take ownership of that and realized that uh we didn't make it hard enough for them tonight and and they made things a little bit difficult for us there was a stretch oh go ahead tonight the team had 11 offensive rebounds and since the break this team is second in off how important is that team effort on the GL ESP com yeah I mean I think the old boards are are something that it's amazing to see us continue to to kind of Trend in the right direction with that getting multiple opportunities to to score the basketball um and whether we o board or not trying to get like in front of our our opponents if you guys know what I mean so that um we can also get back in transition and not get any any fast break points there was a stretch late in the third where it was an 11-point lead cut to four because Leo scored seven straight you hit her a couple of times ahead on leak outs but she was also guarding D Bonner for a lot of the night staying down a lot of those pump fakes what did you just see from Lao today that really helped you guys stay in the game yeah I mean I think Leo just you know really like the quick evolution of her as you know being in this league being a w WNBA player and um taking what the defense gives her I think that you know offensively she does doesn't trying to do too much she just plays um really well and the ball finds her and um defensively you know taking a lot of pride in her matchup and knowing that you know no matter what it's going to be she's going to make sure that they shoot a tough shot great thanks D thank