Breanna Stewart wasn’t playing her best game.
Her jump shots were wide and she missed 12 of 14 field goal attempts.
But Liberty fell behind and Stewart forgot about her struggles when she spotted Jonquel Jones driving in.
She scored inside, made two free throws, scored some more and then made a jump shot on a few more attempts.
That gave the Liberty the breathing room they needed to record a season-high eighth straight win, with a hard-fought 79-71 victory over the Dallas Wings at Barclays Center.
Stewart had 19 points (eight with 5:36 left), seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, while Jones added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
But reserve players Kayla Thornton and Leonie Fiebic, who were forced into the starting lineup due to injuries to Savrian Ionescu and Betnijah-Rainey-Hamilton, played big games.
Thornton finished with 16 points and Fiebic had 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists, making up for the poor performances of Stewart and Jones.
With 1 minute, 14 seconds left, Fievich made a three-pointer to extend the lead to eight points and seal the victory.
Still, it was Stewart who made a string of big plays late after the Wings briefly took the lead, and the reigning MVP stepped up when the Liberty (25-4) needed it most.
Dallas, one of the worst teams in the league with a 6-22 record, showed plenty of fighting spirit in their toughest game against the Liberty since the Olympic hiatus.
Arike Ogunbowale had 19 points and Natasha Howard had 16 points for the Wings.
