Breanna Stewart returns to New York Liberty lineup after missing month with bone bruise in her knee

NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart is back after missing a month with a bone bruise in her right knee.

The Liberty star scored 19 points to help New York hold off Connecticut 81-79 on Monday night, marking her return after missing 13 games.

“I felt great. I think that I was trying to get (coach) Sandy (Brondello) to let me play more minutes,” Stewart said. “I wanted to push it when I was out there. It was great to be back with the team.”

Stewart played just over 20 minutes — the limit that was put on her before the game.

“I’m trying to help make things a little bit easier on all fronts and know that this is important for our playoff push and I took the time I needed and was on the training staff for the entire four weeks,” Stewart said.

Sabrina Ionescu, who missed Saturday's loss against Atlanta after injuring her foot against Chicago on Thursday, also played against the Sun, coming up with a big block to seal the win after a steal late in the game by the Sun.

Stewart had last played on July 26 when she left a few minutes into the game against Los Angeles. The Liberty went 5-8 without their star forward to fall to fifth in the standings at 22-15. Stewart was on a minutes restriction Monday night according to Brondello.

New York started the season 9-0 before going 13-15 since when injuries started to hit the team. Jonquel Jones twice injured her right ankle and missed more than a month.

Stewart is averaging 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists this season. She's also a force on the defensive end with 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks a game. Stewart told the media two weeks ago that she planned to return by her 31st birthday, which is Wednesday.

The defending champions have seven games left in the regular season.

Natasha Cloud (nose) and Isabelle Harrison (concussion protocol) both missed the game Monday night. Brondello said after the game that Cloud had a slight fracture in her nose.

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