Sabrina Ionescu's bounce-back effort sends Liberty back to WNBA Finals
LAS VEGAS -- Sabrina Ionescu didn't take long to make a quick statement that what transpired not even 48 hours earlier would not happen again.
But she and her Liberty teammates had an even larger message to deliver.
Ionescu rebounded from a rare off game to score 22 points, and nearly a year after the Aces ended the Liberty's dream of a championship, New York returned the favor Sunday afternoon by defeating Las Vegas 76-62 to advance to the WNBA Finals.
The top-seeded Liberty will have home-court advantage in the championship series and will face either the Connecticut Sun or Minnesota Lynx, who will play Game 5 on Tuesday. This is the Liberty's sixth trip to the finals, but the franchise is still seeking its first title.
"We haven't done anything yet," said New York's Breanna Stewart, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds. "This was a tough series, an emotional series for a number of different reasons. But we're going to the finals and we're hosting Game 1 and Game 2. We're ready to go. Just the feeling of not (being) satisfied."
New York lost in four games to the shorthanded Aces on Oct. 18, 2023, and turned the painful defeat into a mission. The Liberty have been the league's best team this season and, including the playoffs, went 6-1 against Las Vegas.
Ionescu said the Aces "made us a better team," and she made it clear she respects how difficult it was for Las Vegas to win back-to-back titles. But, no doubt, the Aces fueled New York's drive by how they celebrated after last season, with coach Becky Hammon even taking a shot during the victory parade at Stewart going 3 for 17 in the final game.
"We talked our crap, they heard and they get to talk their crap," Hammon said Sunday. "It's part of the game. It's not personal. I can talk crap all I want. At the end of the day, I have mad respect for (coach) Sandy (Brondello). Sandy coached me. Me and Sandy go way back. Sab, Stewie, I have mad respect for those players. I think Stewie is phenomenal."
The Aces, whose record 12-game home playoff winning streak ended, were hoping to make more WNBA history. Last year, they became the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02 to win back-to-back titles and were trying to become the first club to capture three successive championships since the Houston Comets took four straight in 1997-2000.
"It's hard," said A'ja Wilson, who led the Aces with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. "Everybody wants to beat you. You're everybody's Super Bowl. (The loss) sucks, it stings, but I'm very proud about the group that we had."
In addition to Ionescu and Stewart, Jonquel Jones scored 14 points despite being in foul trouble most of the game and Leonie Fiebich finished with 11 points.
For Las Vegas, Kelsey Plum (17 points) and Tiffany Hayes (11) joined Wilson in scoring in double figures.
The Aces couldn't contend with a Liberty front line that dominated inside, outrebounding Las Vegas 48-27. Aces center Kiah Stokes missed her second game in a row because of a concussion.
Ionescu showed almost right away this wouldn't be a repeat of Game 3 for her. She averaged 24.5 points in the playoffs entering that game, but was held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting Friday night. She didn't score until the fourth quarter.
This time, Ionescu needed just 3:04 to get on the scoreboard when she nailed a corned 3-pointer. She finished the first quarter with 12 points, making all four shots that included three 3s.
The Liberty led by just two points entering the fourth quarter but then outscored Las Vegas 23-11 in the final period to pull away.
The Aces made just 32.8% shots for the game that included going 7 of 30 from the 3-point line.
"To hold Vegas to 24 points in the second half is pretty impressive," Brondello said.
And now, unlike last year, it's the Liberty walking off the opposing floor with plenty to celebrate.
"It was really nice to see how we stuck together," Ionescu said. "Obviously, we had a kind of rough game last game and it can go one of two ways. ... We came out here and understood we wanted to be our best and get this done because we deserve that."