MINNEAPOLIS — Three weeks ago, Breanna Stewart hit a breaking point.
She had enough of her lousy 3-point percentage after shooting 17.6 percent from deep across the first 17 games.
She told Liberty director of player development Andrew Wade to start fining her every time a 3-point attempt fell short.
Since then, Stewart has shot 7-for-16 from beyond the arc in her last five games and her pockets have stayed heavy.
She opened Saturday’s game against the Lynx with a 3 in transition.
Then, she drained another triple when Sabrina Ionescu found her at the top of the key.
She went 2-for-3 from deep on the day.
After the loss, Stewart wanted a fist bump when her increased efficiency beyond the arc was brought up.
She knew it was only a matter of time before her shot fell.
“Listen, I think that the work that I put in, it’s gonna show,” Stewart told The Post. “You never know when but kind of continuing to make sure that Drew and I are in the gym, but also mindset and mentality to want to be aggressive, want to shoot the ones I shot today and yeah, being intentional, focusing on the things of, like, not wanting to be short.”
Stewart said she had to fork over $20 to Wade the other day for a short triple in the Liberty’s loss to the Dallas Wings.
But the financial disincentive seems to be paying dividends for Stewart.
Rebounding continued to be an issue for the Liberty.
Six of the Lynx’s 15 offensive boards were snatched in the fourth quarter, partially the reason the game swung in Minnesota’s favor.
Marine Johannes said rebounding is an effort thing.
Jonquel Jones said it’s about hitting bodies.
Either way, Stewart said it’s a problem that needs to be addressed.
“It’s really personal, knowing who’s gonna crash and who you have to box out,” she said. “That’s the only downfall to our zone is it’s really hard to find a body when you’re matched up to space. … But it’s a hurdle that we have and it’s something that we have to kind of get over the hump.”
The Liberty concede 9.2 offensive boards per game, the seventh most in the league.
The Liberty still don’t have an official update on Leonie Fiebich, who’s missed two straight games with left foot soreness.
Fiebich underwent an MRI on Tuesday, but coach Chris DeMarco said the team is “looking at different opinions.”
“We don’t think it’s a fracture,” he said, “so we’re trying to get to the root of it now.”
