With a close 88-84 win on Tuesday night, the New York Liberty have taken a forceful 2-0 lead in their semifinal matchup against last year’s WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces. New York was led by guard Sabrina Ionescu who had 24 points, including two clutch free throws that secured the Liberty the win.
The Aces came out with a competitive spirit to start the game, hoping to avoid falling behind as they did in game one. Led by Alysha Clark in the first quarter with eight points, the Aces found a rhythm in their offense that they struggled to find in the previous game. Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton provided the spark on offense for New York in the first quarter, putting up 6 points, but it wasn’t enough to outscore the active Aces. By the end of the first quarter, the Aces were up 22-27.
The second quarter saw a big scoring contribution from Liberty bench player Kayla Thornton who had three consecutive baskets. Her scoring sparked the comeback and gave the Liberty the lead. New York ended the first half strong, getting multiple defensive stops in a row, along with a big three-pointer by Ionescu to end the second quarter leading 46-40.
Each quarter had a different Liberty player stepping up and leading the way. New York guard and veteran Courtney Vandersloot was the x-factor in the third quarter. She had an impressive block that stopped the Ace’s fast break then scored a three-pointer on the other end of the court. The second half of the game consisted of more ball movement from the Liberty, which has been a key component of their success all season.
The Aces began to make a comeback in the fourth quarter when Las Vegas center and league MVP A’Ja Wilson started to take over. Wilson didn’t have the most dominant game 1 that fans were expecting, but in the fourth quarter, she had multiple big shots that kept the Aces in this game. Liberty forward Breanna Stewart who had 34 points the last game, was struggling to shoot from the field, ending just 5/15 with 15 points. Her missed shots down the stretch in the fourth quarter gave the Aces the chance to come back. With Wilsons’ fast break layup cutting New York’s lead to just one point with two and a half minutes left in the game. Ionescu was attempting to keep her team in front by driving to the basket for two points, but the Aces then found Clark open in the corner for the three-pointer, which tied the game at 81-81.
Without panic, Ionescu then responded by hitting a jump shot to put the Liberty back up. Two possessions later, Ionescu fouled Aces bench player Tiffany Hayes, which put her at the free throw line with the ability to tie up the game. Hayes went 1 of 2 from the free throw line, missing the second. Ionescu grabbed the rebound which prompted an immediate foul from the Aces, but she only hit 1 of 2 from the line. When the Aces got back the ball with 11.6 seconds left, it was deflected off of the inbound pass and determined to be New York ball. This was followed by yet another foul of Ionescu, but this time she made both of her free throws from the foul line in a high-pressure moment.
“I hit those free throws because JJ (Jonquel Jones) was in my ear telling me I better make em,” Ionsecu jokingly admitted during the postgame press conference.
This secured the game for New York, putting them up 85-82 with 9 seconds left in regulation. Ionescu’s takeover in the fourth quarter isn’t new to Liberty fans, especially not this postseason when she had a career-high 36-point game against the Atlanta Dream in the first round that included a huge fourth quarter by her.
The Liberty will now head to Las Vegas for games 3 and 4 at Michelob ULTRA Arena. New York will have the opportunity to win the semifinals in game 3, which is set for Oct. 4 at 9:30 pm eastern time.
