Stewart leads New York to 81-75 win over Atlanta Dream

New York, which hadn’t played since losing to Minnesota in the Commissioners Cup final on Tuesday, also got 18 points from Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.

Stewart scored her 5,000th career point, becoming the fastest player to reach the milestone in her 242nd game. Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, did it in 243.

Allisha Gray had 24 points and Tina Charles added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Dream (7-10). Atlanta was still missing Rhyne Howard (ankle) and Aerial Powers (leg) because of injuries.

“At some point we can put it all together, hopefully when everybody’s back strong,” Atlanta coach Tanisha Wright said. “Tonight our team played hard, they were tired. When you’re tired, it’s hard to go on and do the things you’re supposed to do because you let the fatigue take over. I don’t blame them.”

It was a homecoming for Charles, who grew up in New York and played for the Liberty from 2014 to 2019. She received a warm ovation from the crowd during her pregame introduction.

New York returned Courtney Vandersloot to the starting lineup for the first time since she spent a few weeks away from home to be with her mother before she died of cancer. The fullback left the team earlier this month and then played his first match since June 4 in the Commissioner’s Cup final last Tuesday.

The Liberty trailed 31-15 early in the second quarter and trailed by 14 points with 1:40 left in the half before Stewart and Vandersloot pulled them within 41-36 at the break. Stewart missed six of his first seven shots before finishing by making four of his final five to finish the half with 12 points.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball