LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu She rebounded from a rare off game to score 22 points, and nearly a year after the Aces ended the Liberty’s championship dreams, New York returned the favor by beating Las Vegas 76-62 on Sunday afternoon to advance to the WNBA Finals.
The top-seeded Liberty will have home-court advantage in the championship series and will face either the Connecticut Sun or Minnesota Lynx. This is Liberty’s sixth appearance in the finals, but the franchise is still looking for its first title.
On October 18, 2023, New York lost all four games to the weak Ace and made it their mission to suffer a painful defeat. The Liberty have been the best team in the league this season and are 6-1 against Las Vegas, including the playoffs.
Coming off a 12-game home playoff winning streak, the Aces were looking to make more WNBA history. They became the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02, and were trying to become the first club to win three straight titles since the Houston Comets won four in a row in 1997-2000.
In addition to Ionescu Brianna Stewart A total of 19 points and 14 rebounds Jonkel Jones Despite suffering from foul trouble throughout the game, he scored 14 points. Leonie Piewicz It ended with 11 points.
In the case of Las Vegas, Aja Wilson He recorded 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Kelsey Plum 17 points, Tiffany Hayes 11 points.
Ionescu showed almost immediately that this would not be a repeat of Game 3 for her. She averaged 24.5 points in the playoffs entering that game, but had just 4 points on 1-of-7 shooting Friday night. She didn’t score until the fourth quarter.
This time, it took Ionescu just 3 minutes and 4 seconds to get on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer. She made all four of her shots, including three 3-pointers, and finished the first quarter with 12 points.
Liberty led by just two points in the fourth quarter but outscored Las Vegas 23-11 in the final period.
ace center Kia Stokes He missed his second game in a row due to a concussion in the second half of Game 2.
