By John “Woods” Armwood III
Friday night, the Las Vegas Aces (1-2) survived elimination in the semifinals to the New York Liberty (2-1). The Aces came out with a point to prove and much more energy than they’ve had throughout the series. The past two seasons, the Liberty has dominated this matchup, however the Aces have found ways to be victorious when it mattered the most. The Liberty fell to the Aces, 95-81, in dominating fashion.
Early in the game, Liberty star forward Breanna Stewart led the Liberty offense with 19 points on 50% (2-4) shooting from deep while adding six rebounds against Las Vegas. Stewart became the fastest player in Liberty franchise history to reach 100 field goals (15 games). This marked Breanna’s 37th consecutive playoff game with at least 10 points, which is the longest such streak in WNBA postseason history.
“This is when teams are most dangerous when their backs are against the wall,” said Stewart. “They're going to throw everything at you. They came out and did what they're supposed to do tonight.”
Before Friday night, the Liberty handled Aja Wilson and controlled the paint throughout the series. Veteran point guard Chelsea Gray explained that it was an emphasis of this game to establish that presence. Essentially, it’s vital to the Aces success that Wilson finds her rhythm and really becomes impactful in the game. It appears as far as Wilson goes, the Aces will go.
“We knew they wanted to get into the paint,” Gray said. “They were killing us inside. Whether it was layups, post-ups, (offensive) boards, we knew coming into this game, that was going to be our starting point, not on the offensive end.”
What’s Next for the Liberty?
The Liberty will face the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, October 6 at 12:00 PM PT.
“We're a way better team than what we showed,” Brondello said. “Even that first half we were only down by three, it just didn't feel good.”