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Exactly one month ago, the New York Liberty beat the Phoenix Mercury to improve to 17-6. Though they were 3 ½ games back of the Minnesota Lynx in the race for the No. 1 seed, comfortably in second, with a 2½-game lead on everyone else. A Finals rematch seemed destined. 

The next night, Breanna Stewart landed awkwardly on a layup attempt just minutes into the Liberty's matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks. She left the game, which the Liberty ultimately lost on a buzzer beater by Rickea Jackson. Stewart was later diagnosed with a right knee bone bruise and has not played since. 

Including that defeat to the Sparks, the Liberty are 5-9 without Stewart and four of those wins have come against teams that would be in the lottery if the season ended today. Now 22-15, the Liberty are stuck in fifth place and staring at the possibility of not having home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. 

During this stretch they are eighth in the league in offensive rating (103.9), 10th in defensive rating (107.0) and 10th in net rating (minus-3.0). For the season, they have a plus-10.4 net rating with Stewart and a minus-0.4 net rating without her. 

Stewart's numbers this season -- 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks -- may not be as gaudy as they have been in the past, but the last month has been a reminder that she remains the Liberty's most important player. 

The good news for the Liberty is that Stewart is expected to return to action soon. Earlier this month, Stewart said it was a "non-negotiable" for her to return before her birthday on Wednesday (Aug. 27), and she has been listed as questionable for the team's game against the Connecticut Sun on Monday. 

The Liberty may be down in the dumps right now, but with Stewart's return on the horizon and a few weeks remaining in the regular season, there's just enough time for them to get their act together for a repeat push. 

Below are CBS Sports' latest WNBA Power Rankings.

WNBA Power Rankings

1
Lynx
The Lynx suffered back-to-back defeats this week for the first time this season, but rebounded with back-to-back wins over the Fever to become the first team to reach the 30-win mark. They've also tied the franchise record for wins in a season. Napheesa Collier returned to action Sunday with a brilliant 32-point outing to resume her pursuit for the MVP and the scoring title.
2
Dream
The Dream blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead against the Aces, and were two points away from beating Las Vegas, Minnesota and New York in the same week. Instead, they had to settle for wins over the Lynx and Liberty to run their hot streak to nine wins in their last 11 games. Much has been made of their improved offense, and rightly so, but their defense has been terrific lately as well. They're now second in offensive rating (106.6) and defensive rating (99.0).
3
Aces
A'ja Wilson and the Aces cannot be stopped. Three more victories this week ran their winning streak to 10 games -- the Aces' longest since they moved to Las Vegas and the longest in the league since 2021. Wilson added two more 30-point games this week to continue her MVP push and now has 10 for the season. She is the only player in WNBA history with at least 10 30-point games in multiple seasons.
4
Mercury
The Mercury sandwiched wins over the Valkyries around a loss to the Aces and remain in fourth place, right where they were at the start of the week. Alyssa Thomas tied a career-high with 16 assists in their second win over the Valkyries and recorded her sixth triple-double of the season in the process. She has now tied her own record for the most triple-doubles in a season.
5
Storm
Here come the Storm. After a brutal midseason slump, they've won three games in a row and four of their last five to jump up to sixth place and now have a 1 ½-game advantage on the ninth-place Sparks. Nneka Ogwumike was the hero in their win over the Mystics on Sunday. She knocked down a career-high six 3-pointers and finished with 30 points, including the game-winner at the buzzer. Ogwumike is now eighth in the league in scoring at 18.3 points per game.
6
Liberty
The Liberty got one of their biggest wins of the season against the Lynx, then promptly lost to the Sky and Dream, the latter coming without both Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. They're now 5-9 since Stewart went down and have dropped to fifth place, a full two games behind the second-place Dream. While they should finally be fully healthy soon, this poor run of form could make their playoff path much more difficult than expected.
7
Sparks
Kelsey Plum had her biggest moment yet in a Sparks jersey on Wednesday when she banked in a buzzer beater to stun the Wings. For the season, Plum is averaging 20.4 points and 5.9 assists. Both marks are career-highs, and she's on pace to join Diana Taurasi as the only players in league history to average at least 20 points and five assists in multiple seasons.
8
Valkyries
Veronica Burton put up 25 points and 13 assists in a win over the Wings that snapped the Valkyries' three-game losing streak and kept them in playoff position. Before this week, Burton had never recorded a 20-point, 10-assist game; she then did it twice in three games. The fourth-year guard is averaging 12 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists, and is a leading candidate for Most Improved Player.
9
Fever
Sophie Cunningham was ruled out for the season with a torn MCL, and there's really only so much the Fever can do at this point. Their only games this week were against the Lynx, and they lost both of them to fall to eighth place, just one game ahead of the Sparks, who own the tiebreaker between the clubs. It's still unclear when, or if, Caitlin Clark will be back, but she did participate in the non-contact portion of shootaround on Sunday.
10
Mystics
The Mystics were right in the mix for a playoff spot at the start of the week, but after four straight losses, including one at the buzzer beater to the Storm, their postseason hopes are probably gone. They're now 3 ½ games behind the seventh-place Valkyries, who own the tiebreaker between the clubs. During a defeat to the Sun, Sonia Citron broke the franchise's rookie scoring record.
11
Sun
The Sun not only won back-to-back games for the first time all season, they ripped off three consecutive victories this week to climb out of last place for the first time since June 19. In their victory over the Sky on Saturday, Tina Charles put up 23 points and 10 rebounds to became the first player in WNBA history to record 200 career double-doubles.
12
Sky
After missing three weeks with a back injury, Angel Reese returned to action in style this week. Over three games, including an upset win over the Liberty, she averaged 17 points, 9.3 rebounds and four assists on 62.5% shooting. Despite Reese's efforts, the Sky were officially eliminated from playoff contention. As a reminder, they owe the Lynx their first-round pick.
13
Wings
Paige Bueckers tied Cynthia Cooper-Dyke for the highest-scoring game by a rookie in league history when she poured in 44 points against the Sparks to cement herself as the Rookie of the Year, but the Wings lost on a Kelsey Plum buzzer beater. That defeat summed up the Wings' frustrating season. They've lost five games in a row to sink into last place and have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.