The Aces Dominated The Liberty In The Second Half To Take Game 1 Of The WNBA Finals

The highly anticipated WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty tipped off on Sunday afternoon in the desert, and in the first half they looked like two evenly matched superteams that were going to go blow-for-blow. The Liberty took a three-point advantage into halftime thanks in large part to the three-point shooting of Marine Johannes, who knocked down four first half threes off the bench, including this heat check in the late second off one foot that had the New York bench going crazy.

However, after a 49-point first half, the Liberty’s offense slowed as the Aces ratcheted up their defensive pressure, with A’ja Wilson (19 points, 8 rebounds) leading the way on that end with her activity at the rim to erase New York attempts at the basket.

On the offensive end, it was the backcourt that was getting it done, as Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum both exploded for 26 points and five rebounds, while Chelsea Gray chipped in 20 points, nine assists, and six boards. That trio proved unstoppable, as they attacked New York’s guards off the dribble and feasted on cuts to the basket, opening up a big second half advantage on their way to a 99-82 win in Game 1.

The Liberty will have to go back to the drawing board on both ends, as they got shredded defensively and just did not have any good answers for the Aces trio of guards. On offense, they worked the ball beautifully in the first half, but as the three-point shot dried up in the second half they struggled to create consistent offense and empty possessions became opportunities for Las Vegas to push the pace and get into their actions early.