The New York Liberty hosted the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs. It was the rematch of the 2023 WNBA finals, making the series even more exciting.
New York swept the season series 4-0, but everyone knows the postseason is a different atmosphere. Nothing in the regular season matters except the final standings.
The Liberty finished atop the standings, so they have home-court advantage throughout the entire postseason. The Aces finished as the fourth seed, so they went on the road for their first two games.
Game Recap
Jonquel Jones kicked things off with a three pointer to get New York on the board, and Kelsey Plum answered with a three of her own to get the Aces on the board. After the three by Jones, the Liberty scored on their next four possessions.
The crowd was electric, going crazy every time the Liberty made a shot. It was a one possession game at the 4:52 mark in the first quarter, until New York went on a 10-3 run to increase their lead to double digits.
Aces head coach Becky Hammon has been vocal about her team needing to set the tone on the defensive end at the beginning. That is not what the Aces did. They allowed the Liberty to shoot 68.8 FG% and 66.7 3PG%. They had 10 assists on 15 made shots. Las Vegas attempted just one more shot than New York, but the difference was efficiency.
The second quarter was a better defensive performance for the Aces as they held New York to just six made field goals. The Liberty also missed all three of their three point attempts. The Aces were able to cut the lead to two after a 7-2 run.
New York closed the first half on an 11-4 run to increase their lead back to double digits. Despite their offense cooling down, they got to the free throw line and went 8/9. The defense by the Aces kept the game from getting out of hand, but the offense had yet to go on a huge run.
The Liberty’s offense started rolling in the third quarter, and they never looked back. Aces actually won the third quarter by one point and even cut the lead to single digits, but they could not stop New York from scoring.
The Liberty won the game 87-77 to take a 1-0 lead. Game 2 will take place on Tuesday, October 1 and air on ESPN. It will begin at 7:30pm EST.
Breanna Stewart led the team with 34 points on 63.2 FG% along with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sabrina Ionescu finished with 21 points on 60 FG% along with four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jonquel Jones finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Kelsey Plum led the Aces with 24 points on 52.9 FG% along with four assists. A’ja Wilson finished with 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Jackie Young finished with 17 points and two steals.
Photo Courtesy: @nyliberty/X
