Liberty's Breanna Stewart scores 30 points to help beat Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever

There are mile markers in every season. Moments when a team’s fortune can sway one way or the other.

Moments that can define who and what a team is.

For the Liberty, one such moment came in the 11th game of their season, and Breanna Stewart was pleased with what she saw.

“We want to win games whether they are pretty or ugly,” Stewart said after the Liberty’s 83-75 win over the Indiana Fever in a Commissioner’s Cup contest Saturday night at Barclays Center. The Liberty (7-4) have won four in a row.

“We found a way,” first-year Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said. “Make two, three, four plays and that will swing a game. I thought we had that tonight. I think we really hustled after mistakes and missed shots.”

After trailing by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, the Liberty outscored Indiana 29-18 in the fourth.

Stewart scored 30 points, Satou Sabally added 13 off the bench and Pauline Astier had 12.

For both league decision-makers and television program executives, the first of four regular-season contests between the Eastern Conference teams was supposed to be a nationally televised prime-time matchup between Caitlin Clark, one of the WNBA’s preeminent stars, and a refurbished Liberty squad looking to win the franchise’s second title in three seasons.

Alas, the best-laid plans.

The game’s star power was slightly dimmed by DeMarco’s announcement after Saturday morning’s shootaround that Sabrina Ionescu would not play because of back soreness. Ionescu, who battled a left foot injury earlier in the season, has played in only one game.

Even without Ionescu, the Liberty entered the game having won three straight and appeared to be adjusting well to the offensive and defensive concepts DeMarco brought with him from Golden State of the NBA.

DeMarco spent 14 seasons working in Golden State’s video department and later was a scout, director of player development and an assistant coach before being hired by the Liberty in the offseason.

In the three wins, the Liberty scored an average of 85.3 points and held Phoenix (in contests on May 27 and May 29) and Toronto (Friday night) to 74.7 points. Overall, the Liberty’s average of 87.6 points ranked seventh in the league and their 83.1 points allowed was sixth.

The defensive element was on display in the first half.

After a back-and-forth first quarter in which the teams traded buckets, the Liberty held the Fever to 4-for-12 shooting from the field in the second 10 minutes.

Indiana’s 40-37 lead at halftime could partially be attributed to the Liberty misfiring from beyond the arc and at the foul line. They missed 12 of 14 three-point attempts and shot 7-for-12 from the free-throw line.

In the first 6 1⁄2 minutes of the third quarter, the Liberty were outscored 17-8, but after falling behind

57-45, the Liberty closed the quarter with a 9-0 spurt.

Stewart started the run with two free throws and Sabally converted a three-point play. Rebekah Gardner added two free throws and Stewart drilled a jumper in the lane with 10.9 seconds left in the quarter to cut the deficit to 57-54.

Kelsey Mitchell had 21 points, Monique Billings 15, Aliyah Boston 13 and Clark 10 (4-for-14 shooting) for Indiana.