Breanna Stewart wasn’t having her best game.
Her jump shot was way off. She had missed 12 of 14 field goal attempts.
But now the Liberty were behind, and Stewart forgot about her struggles. She found Jonquel Jones on a drive.
She scored inside, hit two free throws, scored again and then sank a jumper a few possessions later.
It gave the Liberty the necessary breathing room to pull out a hard-fought 79-71 victory over the Dallas Wings at Barclays Center and equal a season-high with their eighth straight victory.
Stewart finished with 19 points — eight coming in the final 5:36 — seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Jones added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
But two reserves, Kayla Thornton and Leonie Fiebich, pressed into starting duties due to injuries to Sabrian Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton came up big.
Thornton notched 16 points and Fiebich had 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists, making up for off nights from Stewart and Jones.
Fiebich’s 3-pointer with 1:14 to go, pushing the lead to eight, iced the win.
Still, it was Stewart who made all the big plays late, after the Wings had briefly gone ahead. The reigning MVP took over when the Liberty (25-4) needed it.
Dallas, one of the league’s worst teams at 6-22, showed plenty of fight in giving the Liberty their toughest game since the Olympics break.
Arike Ogunbowale had 19 points and Natasha Howard followed with 16 for the Wings.