The Liberty Took Down The Aces In Game 4 To Advance To The WNBA Finals

For the last year, the New York Liberty have been focused on getting some revenge on the Las Vegas Aces after last year’s WNBA Finals loss. New York got beat in four games by the Aces, as Las Vegas completed its repeat bid, with the Liberty learning firsthand what it would require to get to the mountain top.

While they didn’t get their rematch in the Finals as many expected, the two teams met in the playoff semifinals, and on Sunday the Liberty completed their year-long quest to beat the Aces in the postseason, winning Game 4 in impressive fashion, 76-62, to win the series 3-1 and punch their ticket to the Finals for the second straight year. As has been the case all year, it was Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart leading the way for the Liberty, as Ionescu led all scorers with 22 points, while Stewart had a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double in the win.

Ionescu got going early with three makes from downtown in the first quarter, quickly shaking off a rough Game 3 shooting performance to get the Liberty out to an early advantage, while Stewart also got off to a strong start herself.

New York’s defense gave the Aces fits (as it had at home in Games 1 and 2) early, and the story of the game was Vegas’ inability to consistently create good looks. Everything looked hard on offense for the Aces, as they shot just 32.8 percent from the field and 23.3 percent from deep. The league’s MVP, A’ja Wilson, had 19 points and 10 boards, but was not able to get to her spots as easily as usual and the Liberty were able to limit her shot attempts (13) and ask the rest of the Aces to beat them.

That was not a task the rest of the Vegas squad was up to, as Kelsey Plum had 17 points (but on 5-of-16 shooting) and Tiffany Hayes was the only other player on the Aces to get into double figures with 11 points. Vegas was able to mount a challenge in the middle quarters to keep things close thanks to their defense, as Wilson lorded over the paint with five blocks.

However, they just could not make enough shots to reel in the Liberty, as New York pulled away thanks to some timely buckets down the stretch, led by Ionescu’s fifth three of the afternoon.

With the win, the Liberty move on to the Finals where they will be the favorites over either the Lynx or the Sun (Minnesota can punch their ticket with a win on Sunday evening in Connecticut). With Ionescu and Stewart playing at the level they are, and the kind of supporting cast around them, headlined by Jonquel Jones (14 points, six rebounds) and rookie Leonie Fiebich (11 points, seven rebounds), it will take an incredible effort to beat this Liberty squad.

That was not something the Aces could do, as they seemed off throughout the series, with the exception of Game 3 when they showed some terrific resolve to ensure they wouldn’t get swept. The Liberty were able to bother them with length on offense, as the Aces seemed determined to pass up good shots to create great ones, but rarely were able to do so. The result was an offense that looked stuck in the mud, a strange sight after they spent the last three years mowing down opponents, and now they’ll head into the offseason with some things to figure out for the first time in a few years — where perhaps they won’t be as “distracted” as Becky Hammon lamented they were after Game 2.