Breanna Stewart knows how to win big games.

She made it at UConn and led the Huskies to four consecutive NCAA titles. She made it to Seattle as part of two WNBA championship teams. She did it with “USA” on her chest and won three gold medals. And now she's just one game away from making the New York Liberty.

The Liberty, on the other hand, don't know much about whether they are the last team standing.

The franchise debuted in 1997 as one of the founding members of the WNBA. New York has played in the Finals six times and never won a title. You are the only member of the founding team who has not yet been able to lift a championship trophy.

They want to change that.

Enter Breanna Stewart.

There's a reason they wanted to sign Stewart as a free agent in 2023: Because of games like Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

When the Liberty looked like they were out of the game and the Lynx were cheered on by their record 19,521 fans with a 15-point lead, Stewart was there to change the outcome. And during

When she made the last throw, Stewart managed nine throws of her own (plus ten free throws) and basically managed the comeback on her own.

“Stewie got us back in there,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said after her team’s 80-77 win in Game 3, securing a win from the franchise’s first championship.

Stewart finished the game with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots while also shooting 10 of 10 from the free throw line.

“We won’t win this game without Stewie,” Ionescu said. “What she could do was just run away. The (winning) shot was nice, but that doesn't contradict what she was able to do for us tonight. She managed to get us back into this game.”

She did it with anger.

Every time Stewart looked at the scoreboard, the emotions grew. She was angry that the Liberty was losing, and instead of fighting off the anger, Stewart allowed it to consume her.

“I was motivated, I was angry and I enjoyed the encounters I had,” Stewart said. “I was attacking them to make sure we got this back to where we needed it to be so it would be a ball game.”

But despite her offensive attack, Stewart couldn't win alone. She needed Ionescu's buzzer. They needed Jonquel Jones' rim protection (two blocks), Leonie Fiebich's 3-point shooting (3 of 5) and the energy boost from the bench.

So she made sure she got it.

The game was suspended for three minutes with the Lynx leading 71-69, and then Minnesota called a timeout. Stewart had a message for her team at the scrum.

“We are not going to lose this (swearing) game,” she said in a moment captured on the video feed.

“That’s why I can’t be put in front of the microphone,” Stewart joked after the game.

Her teammates got the message, and after the Lynx's Courtney Williams floated a shot into the lane, Jones responded with a three-pointer to cut the lead to one.

That was the last time the Liberty fell behind.

“I could feel it,” Stewart said. “I could feel the momentum shifting to our side. They were on top and their shots didn't fall. We looked good and it felt like we couldn’t leave here without a win if we wanted to be that close.”

Jones made another shot – this time a 2-pointer off an Ionescu assist – and Ionescu drilled a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left for a 77-73 lead. But if this series has taught us anything, it's that it's not over until it's over. And after a shot from Bridget Carleton and two free throws from Napheesa Collier, the game was tied.

That’s when Ionescu had her moment. Wait a minute, this wouldn't have been possible without Stewart.

And now it's possible for the Liberty to finally win a title. On Friday they were able to complete the series and take home a championship trophy for the first time in 27 years.

Because that's exactly what happens when you have Stewart on your team. You win.