Breanna Stewart enjoys emotional moment minutes after saving WNBA finals

Breanna Stewart celebrated the New York Liberty leveling the WNBA Finals in a heartwarming fashion just minutes after the game .

The Liberty evened the finals at 1-1 on Sunday with an 80-66 victory over the Minnesota Lynx at the Barclays Center. New York bounced back from the narrow 95-93 defeat in game one in style with Stewart scoring a game-high 21 points in 38 minutes, with eight rebounds, five assists, and a career-high seven steals.

Just minutes after the game, Stewart shared the spotlight with her three-year-old son, Theo, and her former college coach Geno Auriemma. A clip uploaded to social media showed Stewart being handed Theo courtside as she cuddled her son. Auriemma was seen playing with Theo and laughing with Stewart before they posed for a picture.

• New York Liberty sets franchise record in Game 2 of WNBA Finals
• Breanna Stewart makes it extremely clear to Napheesa Collier how she views her

Auriemma’s attendance was the first time he’s watched his former UConn star in action for the Liberty since she moved from the Seattle Storm in 2023. The 30-year-old sent the media room into laughter when she playfully joked “it’s about time” that her former coach came to watch her.

She then added: “I’ve been here for two years and he hasn’t come down! What are you doing?” Continuing to poke fun at Auriemma, she jokingly shook her head in frustration as she said: “I text him and was like, you know what, it’s about time that you come to my game.”

Speaking about the moment she shared with her former coach and her son, Stewart said that she wanted to make Auriemma’s trip to come and watch her extra special as she introduced him to Theo. “I felt like I had to do something special since he finally decided to show up,” she said.

Auriemma was also able to cast a keen eye on Stewart’s former UConn team-mate and the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier . The pair grew a close friendship during their collegiate days as they won the NCAA title.

Ahead of game two of the finals, Stewart opened up about her relationship with Collier to WNBA.com . “We have a tremendous amount of respect for each other. We’ve done a lot together—both on and off the court—but when we step out there in the finals, we’re putting that all aside.”

Stewart continued to speak of the dynamic of their kinship and how WNBA glory has altered that bond. “We’re friends, business partners, former teammates. But now we’re enemies. And when that ball tips, it’s all about winning."

The Liberty blew an 18-point lead in game one but Stewart’s inspired display has levelled the series heading into game three on Wednesday night. “I couldn’t wait to come back here Sunday and change the narrative a little bit,” Stewart said after the game two victory. “I just wanted to make it very difficult for every single one of the players I was going up against today.”