Liberty Star Believes All-Star Loss Will Help Team USA

This time it counts, and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart and Co. found that out the hard way on Saturday night.

The United States women’s national basketball team, bound for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, dropped its lone domestic tune-up game over the weekend. Liberty stars Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and their fellow Americans knew the competition all too well: the defeat came in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game against a team of the Association’s finest in Phoenix. Paced by an exhibition-record 34 points from MVP Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas) and dominant showings from rookie phenom tandem Caitlin Clark (Indiana) and Angel Reese (Chicago), Team WNBA earned a 117-109 victory.

Stewart and fellow WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas) faced the media music afterward and sought to spin the defeat as a learning experience.

“We just have to take this one on the chin and keep moving forward, knowing that we don’t want to peak too soon and that we can improve on a lot,” Stewart said. “This (game) is going to help us tremendously because we don’t get many game reps, game opportunities … We can go back and watch the film, focus on how we can continue to be better … We just have to lock in, keep the main thing, the main thing, making sure that any time we come off a loss that we grow, improve, and get better.”

“We’re not pressing the panic button right now,” Wilson said. “I’m glad we got tested. This is something that we needed to do … It is kind of difficult but, at the same time, we’re pros. We’re great at what we do. We know how to adapt and adjust at any moment. So we’re going to get there … We’re still 12 of the greatest in the world so we’re going to get the job done.

Stewart and Wilson have never been ones for excuses but they do have plenty on their side: the Americans’ full contingent had convened for less than a week and several (such as Ionescu) are destined for their first Olympics.

Immediately after their defeat at Footprint Center, the Americans boarded a flight for London where one last tune-up against Germany awaits on Tuesday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, FS1). The Germans, which feature New Yorkers Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally, will also compete against the Americans in Paris’ Group C action, which also features Belgium and Japan.

“We’re excited to get to London and just really focus on this team and what our ultimate goal is,” Stewart said. “

If anything, history and, as Stewart put it, “deja vu” is on the Americans’ side.

Team USA has dropped the last two matchups against assembled WNBA All-Stars, previously falling by a 93-85 final in Las Vegas in 2021 (two prior matchups in 2004 and 2010 are not officially recognized as WNBA All-Star Games). Despite that prior loss (which, ironically enough, was also sparked by Ogunbowale dominance for Team WNBA), the American women posted a perfect 6-0 record in the ensuing Tokyo Games, earning their seventh consecutive gold medal with a 90-75 win over host Japan. Stewart fell five assists short of a triple-double in the gold medal game and took home the tournament’s MVP honor.

Excuses and recent history, however, mean nothing to Stewart, who stated that the heartbreaker in Phoenix gave them something to play for in Paris beyond the traditional gold.

“I’m excited to just continue to grow with this team,” Stewart said. “We’re in the shifting of the guards, if you will. A’ja and I talked about it: we have to make sure this is our team. We don’t let anything get past us … Everyone knows that this is not what we do at USA Basketball. We’re realizing the amount of pride and pressure that comes along with that.”

“I think that, throughout this entire trip, A’ja and I are going to continue to find our voices more in the locker room. It’s not time to panic, but it is time to learn and grow, figure out how we can be our best together.”

Gaining new leadership skills is perhaps a scary thought to competitors considering Stewart and Wilson’s battle in and en route to last season’s WNBA Finals: the pair have united to win four of the last six MVP Awards.

Despite Saturday’s loss, Stewart set a Liberty record for points in a single All-Star Game at 31, passing the shared record of 19 set by Ionescu (2022) and Tina Charles (2014).

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