Undoubtedly, the one who fought to avoid Playoff elimination for New York Liberty was veteran forward Breanna Stewart. After Game 1, the 31-year-old star suffered a medial collateral ligament injury, but decided to play Game 2 with the team.
Despite her efforts, Phoenix Mercury took the series and advanced to the Semifinals after Game 3, where Stewart scored 30 points. This courageous act, however, gave Indiana Fever point guard Sophie Cunningham pause for thought.
Sophie reacts to Breanna’s decision
On August 17, an unfortunate tear of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her right knee in a game against the Connecticut Sun ended her first season with the Fever after 30 games played.
For this reason, Sophie knows all too well the pain the seven-time WNBA All-Star must have felt playing with a strain in the same spot she suffered her MCL tear.
As a result, in her podcast “Show Me Something” that she hosts with West Wilson, she reflected on the matter:
“It’s not a big year outside of the WNBA. You play through it if you can and I think that’s what she’s done and they had a great game, a hell of a win against Phoenix in Phoenix, which is hard to do – especially in the playoffs,” she started.
In addition, Cunningham compared their injuries, stating that her torn MCL left her with no chance to play, unlike Breanna, who despite the pain, was able to stay on the court:
“You could kind of tell that she was injured, but Stewie’s just a dawg, man. She’s one of those people that will play through it because she was out earlier with her opposite knee earlier this year… Honestly I talked a lot of s***, but deep down I don’t ever want anyone to be injured… that’s sad for everyone,” admitted Sophie.
“She did just strain it and I completely tore mine. Completely tearing is like I had no option to keep playing whereas she literally just strained it so I’m assuming it was a Grade 1 or maybe a really low Grade 2, but I’m sure it’s still f***ing painful.“
Meanwhile, with Liberty eliminated from Playoffs, Mercury fell in the first Semifinal game to Minnesota Lynx 82-69. They will meet again on Tuesday, September 23.
On the other hand, Indiana Fever managed to beat Las Vegas Aces by 89-73 and will play Game 2 again at Michelob ULTRA Arena, also on Tuesday.
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