HARTFORD, Conn. — As Breanna Stewart sent out those famously cryptic emoji-filled tweets, leaving the entire WNBA on the edge of their seats with her free agency this past offseason, former UConn teammate Stefanie Dolson was in the dark just like everyone else.
“I did not know (what) she was talking about, tweeting about,” Dolson said with a laugh earlier this week. “I had no idea what it meant.”
Dolson said Stewart did reach out to her with some questions about the Liberty at one point, and while Dolson was transparent about her experience playing for the team, she wanted to be respectful of Stewart’s space to make a decision.
So Dolson technically found out with everyone else on Feb. 1 when Stewart shook up the entire WNBA by announcing that she was signing with New York. However the former Husky already had a “very strong inclination” that’s what was happening. Needless to say, she was thrilled.
Stewart and Dolson combined for a dominant force down low in Stewart’s first two years at UConn before Dolson graduated, winning back-to-back national championships in 2013 and 2014. Now around a decade later, they’re once again on another stacked ‘super team’ and looking to add another title to their resume.
“I knew we played really well together at UConn,” Dolson said. “Obviously, it’s different time, different game, and she’s gotten so much better so I knew it would be obviously different, but I was excited to play with her again. “She’s one of the best in the league for a reason. And then she brought a lot of other great talent with her, so I was just really excited for the opportunity.”
Stewart and Dolson were teammates for USA Basketball before their days playing for the Huskies together, winning a gold medal at the U19 World Cup in 2011. Then Stewart came to Storrs in 2012, beginning an unprecedented era of success for the Huskies that featured four national championships in a row.
“Stef was a great mentor,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “I think she showed Stewie how to have fun playing basketball because I don’t think anybody’s ever had more fun playing than than Stef did. And they complement each other in a way that two great players would. They never stepped on each other’s toes. And I think back to those days and I thought, ‘How did we ever lose?’ And then I think back and like we didn’t because of them. They were part of it. They were special, what can I tell you?”
In fact, UConn didn’t lose a single game in Dolson’s senior season in 2013-14, going 40-0 for the most wins in program history. Thanks to the pair’s presence in the paint, the Huskies had a program-best 324 blocks on the year and held opponents to 47.8 points per game, which ranks third in school history.
That season, Stewart averaged a team-best 19.4 points and 2.8 blocks per game along with 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Meanwhile, Dolson led UConn with 9.3 rebounds per game and also averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.
“On the court you’ll always remember the championships and stuff like that, but just off the court, whether we were going out or going to football games or just on campus, I just remember it being a lot of fun,” Stewart said of her time with Dolson. “Especially at UConn, like when you’re in college, it’s like that’s the closest you’ll ever be with those people. Because while we do have a camaraderie and a closeness in the WNBA, people have families and kids and other things going on.”
While there might be less time to hang out off the court, Dolson is still keeping things fun at the WNBA level. That’s especially valuable for a team with as high of expectations as the Liberty are facing this season.
“A personality like Stef’s is really important for our team just because, you know, fun loving, makes sure that she knows when moments are serious but also when she can be playful and keep the energy light in the room,” Stewart said. “Obviously we’re in the biggest sports market in the world, obviously there’s a lot of talk about what we did in free agency and what we’re going to do on the court now, but Stef is helping us kind of stay engaged and stay in the moment.”
Stewart also noted that Dolson has a high basketball IQ and awareness and is one of the better post players in the league. She also brings leadership and does whatever the team needs. But Dolson has missed the last three games with an ankle injury.
“Even while she’s out,” Stewart said, “It sucks to see she had an ankle injury. But her ability to kind of communicate to us on the bench, like help bring energy and leadership from the floor from what she sees is something that’s really important for us.”
Meanwhile, Stewart is off to an electric start in her first season with the Liberty. Heading into Sunday, she was averaging 22.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 37.7% from 3-point range. And she was named an All-Star starter and captain alongside A’ja Wilson for the second season in a row last Sunday.
Stewart credited a mix of confident and comfort. She has played with a majority of the players on New York’s roster, just in different settings on overseas teams or for USA Basketball. Or in Dolson’s case, at UConn.
“The start with Liberty has been great, definitely exceeding expectations,” Stewart said. “I think that really loving and appreciating all my time in Seattle, but starting a new chapter in New York has been great, just on-court experience but also being in Brooklyn, the city, for my family, myself, Marta and Ruby are really enjoying it. And it’s hard because summer is going by so fast to like really make sure we take advantage of moments, but people are engaged and getting behind what we do with the Liberty.”
