Las Vegas Aces fold at home against New York Liberty in WNBA Finals rematch

A star-studded finals rematch between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty took place on Saturday in Las Vegas. This marked the first game since before the Olympic break for the Aces as they hosted the league’s top team in Michelob ULTRA Arena. 

10 players between the two teams just got back from competing for a variety of countries in the Paris Olympics, with six Aces and four Liberty players making the trek. 

The Aces started their typical five: A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes. They began the day fourth in the WNBA standings, but once again fell to fifth after this home loss. Let’s see where it all went wrong for the Aces:

Fast-paced Las Vegas Aces start out on fire

The first quarter of this game was all about the Aces’ offense. 

Chelsea Gray started off the game with a three pointer, and Kelsey Plum went to work in the pick and roll, finding A’ja Wilson for a jump shot before taking one all the way to the rack herself. 

Wilson’s jumper was on full display early, as she knocked down another jumper, this time a three pointer. Plum knocked down a three, and Gray hit another, which made the Aces a perfect 4 for 4 on three point attempts.

The New York Liberty called a timeout after the fourth consecutive make, but they were far from out of the game as Sabrina Ionescu kept them within striking distance. 

Then, the Liberty found their stride. 

Breanna Stewart got going with a bucket in the paint and a turnover by Gray led to a fastbreak score by the Liberty. A handful of missed shots by Las Vegas and a Jonquel Jones fading jump shot flipped the momentum completely in the favor of the Liberty. 

But after a series of substitutions, the Aces snatched the momentum right back. Wilson cashed both free throws after getting fouled and Plum found Tiffany Hayes for a three pointer to extend their lead. Plum followed this up with a tough take to the basket that resulted in a three point play, and the Aces were rolling again.

These two teams are heavy-weight contenders in the WNBA, and they were showing early and often why they are both commonly referred to as “super teams.”

A series of subs got the Aces out of their rhythm, as Megan Gustafson and Alysha Clark were unable to get anything going. The second unit struggled tremendously, as they failed to box out or take advantage of open looks. 

Ionescu was unguardable for the last portion of the first period, as she capped off a 12-point quarter which a ridiculous three pointer from deep range. The Aces still led 28-24 after 10 minutes.

Aces go ice-cold in second quarter

The first half was a tale of two quarters. In one, the Aces could not miss, and Plum could not be contained. The high scoring affair featured an intense matchup between her (11 points) and Ionescu (12 points), but the second quarter went a bit differently.

With the starters back in, many thought the Aces could reaffirm their grip on the lead. But the Liberty went on a 13-0 run and held the Aces scoreless from the 2:13 mark of the first quarter until the 6:35 mark of the second quarter.

The Aces went on a stretch where they missed 15 of 16 shot attempts, but luckily the Liberty were not at the top of their game. Turnovers plagued their unit as well, and despite the inability of the Aces to score, the Liberty never built a double-digit lead.

Defense was the name of the game for the Aces in the second quarter, as they could not take care of the ball or find the net on the offensive end. They remained in the game because they continued to cause turnovers and prohibit the Liberty from scoring. 

A series of airballs by Plum, Gray, and Wilson were emblematic of the Aces’ struggles in the quarter, as the turnovers continued to mount and the Aces failed to box out the Liberty, relinquishing eight offensive boards in the first half. 

After Ionescu buried a floater for her 17th first half point, Clark responded with a baseline drive for a layup, which, surprisingly, cut the Liberty’s halftime lead to a mere six.

Considering the atrocious second quarter, the Aces were lucky to only be down 42-36 at halftime, as both teams played sloppily in the second period. The problem is, the Liberty are 16-0 when leading at halftime this year.

The Liberty, despite their Finals losses, seem to be the Aces’ Achilles heel. They are the only team to hold Las Vegas to single digits in a quarter in the last two seasons, and they have done so on three occasions. They held the highest scoring team in the league to 36 first half points and forced them into committing six turnovers.

The Aces were 0-9 from three in the second quarter after a scorching first quarter start, but luckily, they held New York to only 18 points in the second quarter, so despite shooting 37% from the floor and losing the points in the paint battle, they remained in the game. 

Back and forth third quarter sets up exciting finish

Neither team was really able to pull away in the third quarter, as fans saw more of the same from both units.

The second half began with a bucket by Wilson, but Young picked up her third foul early on. The Aces continued to give up offensive rebounds and miss shots, but they stayed in the game because of their defense. 

Wilson stole another cross-court pass and took it in for an uncontested layup, which put the Aces within two points of the Liberty. Jonquel Jones responded with a bucket of her own, and Aces coach Becky Hammon stomped onto the floor to call a timeout. 

There was quite a bit of back-and-forth over the ensuing minutes, as the Aces committed two turnovers but blocked shots on the other end before Plum finally found the bottom of the basket again with a layup. 

Despite a plethora of wide-open looks, both teams failed to cash in on three point attempts. Gray hit a difficult step back shot from midrange and Ionescu converted on an alley-oop. 

Then, the Alysha Clark finally connected on the Aces’ first three pointer since the opening quarter. This made it a one possession game, and the Las Vegas fans began to get back into the game. 

A sloppy few minutes ensued to end the third period, with an Ionescu floater putting the Liberty up by eight heading into the final period.

No dice for the Aces in the fourth quarter

Stewart got herself going early in the fourth quarter with a three pointer that gave New York their first double digit lead of the game. Wilson countered with four straight points of her own, putting the team on her back to give the Aces a chance. 

But, the Liberty scored a bucket on their 13th offensive rebound of the game, and the writing was on the wall for Las Vegas. To make matters worse, coach Becky Hammon unsuccessfully challenged an and-one by Stewart, and the three point play put the Liberty back up by 10. 

The Aces put together one last run, as Kiah Stokes and Chelsea Gray knocked down two three pointers to make it a four point game. The Liberty were forced to call a timeout, and the raucous crowd of Las Vegas was reignited. 

However, the Aces went cold again. They missed four straight shots and two Liberty players made shots from downtown, and Ionescu made both attempts on a trip to the line. Two straight buckets by Stewart put the lead at 16 and the game out of reach, as the clock ran out and the Aces fell at home 79-67.

This loss dropped the Aces back to fifth in the WNBA standings, but not all hope is lost. They still have 15 games remaining on their schedule, which means they have a chance to improve and host a playoff series. 

Aces vs Liberty box score: New York makes a statement

Wilson led the Aces with 24 points and 11 rebounds to go with three steals and blocks.

Plum had 13 points, 11 in the first half, to go with three rebounds and two assists.

Gray left her shooting woes in Paris, as she scored 13 points to go with six rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks. 

Young and Stokes scored four and three points respectively, shooting a combined 2-for-11 from the floor.

Clark and Hayes each contributed five points off the bench while Gustafson and Kate Martin were each held scoreless. 

Stewart and Ionescu led the way for the Liberty, scoring 18 and 23 points respectively, while Jonquel Jones contributed a 10-point, 17-rebound, 7-assist performance.