Breanna Stewart set to return vs. Sun at perfect time for Liberty

Breanna Stewart has been granted her wish of returning to the court before her 31st birthday. 

After missing the past month with a bone bruise in her right knee, Stewart received the green light from the Liberty’s medical staff to play in Monday’s game against the Connecticut Sun at Barclays Center. 

Sabrina Ionescu is also expected to play Monday after missing Saturday’s loss in Atlanta with a left foot injury.

Meanwhile, Natasha Cloud (nose) and Isabelle Harrison (concussion protocol) will be game-time decisions, according to coach Sandy Brondello.

And Nyara Sabally remains missing in action with a right knee issue.

Stewart was beaming with excitement after Monday’s shootaround. She said she had been practically begging the team’s training staff to allow her to rejoin the team, which has struggled in her absence. 

“I’m feeling good,” Stewart said. “I’m going to tonight. I just want to be back with my team and I’m trying to help make things a little bit easier on all fronts and know that this is important for our playoff push and I took the time I needed and was on the training staff for the entire four weeks.” 

Stewart left three minutes into the Liberty’s July 26 game against the Los Angeles Sparks with an apparent leg injury. It’s unclear when exactly the bone bruise occurred as she didn’t appear to bump knees with anyone before exiting. 

New York has gone 5-8 without Stewart and dropped from second to fifth in the WNBA standings. The defending champions (22-15) entered this week two games behind the second-place Atlanta Dream (24-13.) 

Stewart’s absence was especially felt on the defensive end. The Liberty’s defensive rating swelled from 97.2 to 107.0 over the past month without Stewart. 

The Liberty have also surrendered a whopping 27 offensive boards and 41 second-chance points over the last two games.

Stewart’s return injects the Liberty’s lineup with a fresh body, who can bring energy, length and added versatility on both ends of the floor. 

“The first thing that we can do is continue to focus and lock in on effort plays – 50-50 balls, loose balls, like those are things that are controllable,” Stewart said. “Whether the ball goes in the basket or not, you can’t always control but making sure that we’re on a string and we know that we’re ready to fight. We’re in an uphill battle right now and it’s not going to get any easier.” 

Stewart expected to be on some type of minutes restriction but wasn’t quite sure what her allotted playing time would be. 

In 24 games, Stewart is averaging 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. She’s shooting a career-low 20.6% from deep but is third in the league in free throw attempts per game (6.0.) 

Stewart, Ionescu and Harrison joined the rest of the team at shootaround Monday, while Cloud and Sabally were notably absent.