New York Liberty at Washington Mystics
· Women's National Basketball AssociationStewart has 15 points and 10 rebounds as Liberty beat Mystics 87-71 to clinch WNBA's best record
The Liberty will be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and open at home on Sunday against the eighth seed. That could be the Mystics, who are tied with Chicago, one game behind Atlanta heading into Thursday's finales.
Leonie Fiebich scored 13 points and fellow reserve Nyara Sabally had 12 for the Liberty (32-7). Starters Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Lane-Hamilton both added 11.
Ariel Atkins had 22 points for the Mystics (13-26). They play Indiana on Thursday, while Chicago is at Connecticut and Atlanta is at the Liberty.
Julie Vanloo hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Washington, but four New York starters combined for the next 10 points and the Liberty led the rest of the way. Stewart's basket produced the big lead at 26-12 and the lead was 29-18 after one quarter.
New York’s front line combined for 26 points in building a 47-37 halftime lead.
The Liberty pushed the lead to 22 points in the third quarter.
The Liberty had a 50-18 advantage on points in the paint and 16-2 on second-chance points. The rebounding difference was 45-29, 12-3 on the offensive end.
Regular Season Series
NY wins series 4-0
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 87 - 71 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 87 - 71 |
| 4th 23.1 |  |
Sika Kone loose ball foul | 87 - 71 |
| 4th 23.1 |  |
Nyara Sabally defensive rebound | 87 - 71 |
| 4th 24.1 | |
Sug Sutton misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot | 87 - 71 |
Statistics
 NY |
 WSH |
|
|---|---|---|
| 34-75 | FG | 23-61 |
| 45.3 | Field Goal % | 37.7 |
| 8-31 | 3PT | 9-26 |
| 25.8 | Three Point % | 34.6 |
| 11-15 | FT | 16-19 |
| 73.3 | Free Throw % | 84.2 |
| 45 | Rebounds | 29 |
| 12 | Offensive Rebounds | 3 |
| 33 | Defensive Rebounds | 26 |
| 24 | Assists | 16 |
| 9 | Steals | 4 |
| 5 | Blocks | 4 |
| 11 | Turnovers | 16 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 12 | Total Turnovers | 17 |
| 1 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 1 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 7 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 25 |
| 6 | Fast Break Points | 5 |
| 50 | Points in Paint | 18 |
| 25 | Fouls | 14 |
| 22 | Largest Lead | 3 |
Game Information
Location: Washington, DC
Attendance: 4,200 · Capacity:
2023-24 Eastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New York |
- | 8 | L1 | 0.8 | 32 |
 Connecticut |
4 | 12 | W1 | 0.7 | 28 |
 Indiana |
12 | 20 | L1 | 0.5 | 20 |
 Atlanta |
17 | 25 | W3 | 0.375 | 15 |
 Washington |
18 | 26 | W1 | 0.35 | 14 |
 Chicago |
19 | 27 | L5 | 0.325 | 13 |
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