Liberty's Breanna Stewart plans to play in Game 2 of playoffs vs. Mercury despite knee injury scare

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NEW YORK (AP) — Liberty star Breanna Stewart said she's ready to go for Game 2 of the WNBA playoffs against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night after spraining the MCL in her left knee in the opener of the first-round series.

The forward went through shootaround wearing a sleeve on her left knee.

“I wanted to make sure I tried in shootaround and barring anything crazy happening between now and (the game), that's my plan," Stewart said. "I just want to make sure I wake up from my nap and don't feel (bad).”

Stewart injured the knee when she drove to the baseline and was fouled with 3:01 left in overtime of Sunday's Game 1. The knee appeared to buckle and she went down and grabbed it. After a New York timeout, Stewart attempted a free throw but missed it. She wore a knee brace after the injury, then came out a minute later.

“I sprained my MCL basically, that's what I felt in the moment. Scared me more than anything,” Stewart said. “I'm very happy to have my MRI result back and know that it's something that I can play through depending on how much pain I'm going to be in.”

Stewart said that when she first got up after injuring the knee, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

“I wanted to stay in the game. Shoot the free throw, missed the free throw," she said. "But anything laterally was not as enjoyable, and I felt like we were in a good spot where I told (coach) Sandy (Brondello) I need to come out.”

Stewart didn’t practice Tuesday.

“Every day it's gotten better,” she said Wednesday. “Thankfully we had today ... I was able to just, like, really rest, recover, get as much treatment as possible, so that I can hopefully go out and compete with my team.”

Phoenix players and coaches weren't surprised to hear that Stewart planned to play.

“We've been planning on that,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “You don't want to see anybody be injured. I'm glad it was nothing serious.”

He then said his team “probably” would test Stewart's mobility early.

Stewart, who had 18 points and six rebounds before leaving Game 1, missed about a month of the season with a bone bruise on the other knee, suffered in late July.

Game 3 would be Friday in Phoenix.

The Liberty have had a difficult season with injuries. Jonquel Jones missed significant time early in the year with a sprained ankle and Sabrina Ionescu was out for a few games late with a toe injury she suffered in practice.

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