The Liberty have given the Aces more trouble than any other opponent in recent years, but Las Vegas defeated visiting New York 104-99 on Thursday thanks to a combined 62 points from A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young.
Wilson led all scorers with 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and six assists. The four-time MVP scored 18 in a third-quarter outburst that saw her sink 8 of 10 shots from the field, including a 3-pointer.
Young scored 29 points, making 7 of 11 shots from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range while also tallying a game-high nine assists.
Breanna Stewart led the Liberty (16-13) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 10 of 20 from the field overall while making her lone attempt from beyond the arc. Rookie Pauline Astier added 19 points while Sabrina Ionescu added 15 points and Rebecca Allen put up 13.
New York had won seven of the last eight regular-season meetings between the teams, plus the Liberty won the Commissioner’s Cup final in June. The teams also met in the WNBA playoffs in back-to-back seasons, the Aces winning in four games in the 2023 Finals and the Liberty doing the same in the 2024 semifinals.
Wilson put the bow on another stellar performance with 55.5 seconds remaining Thursday, converting an and-one to put the Aces (20-8) ahead 98-93 and halt a six-point run that had drawn the Liberty within two.
Despite trailing by a game-high 10 points early in the third quarter, the Liberty managed to cut the Aces’ lead to 60-59 on a Jonquel Jones lay-in with 6:32 remaining in the quarter. From that point on, however, Wilson scored 12 of the Aces’ final 18 points of the quarter, and the hosts led 78-71 heading into the fourth.
The Aces carried a 52-44 edge to halftime, in large part because of a 22-point showing from Young that saw her make 7 of 9 attempts from the field and 3 of 5 from long range. She scored 15 points to pace her team in what was a back-and-forth opening quarter that featured nine lead changes. The Aces closed the half on a 9-2 run, which provided the first real separation of the game for either team.
–Field Level Media
