The New York Liberty ended the Las Vegas Aces' quest for a third straight championship with a 76-62 victory in Game 4 of their semifinal series on Sunday.
The win gave the Liberty a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five series, sending the two-time defending champions home and securing a spot in their second consecutive WNBA Finals. New York's offense was led by two-time MVP Brianna Stewart, who recorded a dominating double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Former No. 1 Sabrina Ionescu bounced back with 22 points and seven rebounds after scoring just four points in Game 3. "It's Vegas." After the game, Stewart said, "We all know they're going to give it their all. They got us last year, so we definitely wanted to keep going and get back to the Finals and make up for what we didn't do last year." Last season, the Liberty lost to the Aces in four games in the WNBA Finals. But it was a different story for first-place New York, who went 6-1 against Las Vegas this season, including the playoffs. The Liberty started the series well, jumping out to a 2-0 lead, but couldn't beat the Aces in Game 3. Las Vegas clinched a narrow victory and set a WNBA record with 12 straight home playoff wins. But the Aces were under pressure heading into Game 4, as no team in WNBA history has ever overcome a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five playoff series. Sunday's game was close throughout, but after the Aces took a 3-0 lead with their first basket, they never reclaimed the lead the rest of the game. The Liberty took a 53-51 lead into the fourth quarter and began the final period on a 16-2 run to pull away from the Aces. Three-time MVP A'ja Wilson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Kelsey Plum added 17 points in the Aces' losing effort. Despite the big win, Ionescu stressed that the team is focused on bringing home the franchise's first WNBA title. "We haven't accomplished anything yet, that's clear to all of us," Ionescu said. "We want to go up and continue to be the best team we've been. We still have three more wins to go and it's really important that we understand that. Nothing's been given to us yet, so we have to go out and attack." The Liberty will next face the winner of the semifinal game between the Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx, which is tied at 2-2. Game 1 of the WNBA Finals will be held on Thursday, October 10th.
The win gave the Liberty a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five series, sending the two-time defending champions home and securing a spot in their second consecutive WNBA Finals. New York's offense was led by two-time MVP Brianna Stewart, who recorded a dominating double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Former No. 1 Sabrina Ionescu bounced back with 22 points and seven rebounds after scoring just four points in Game 3. "It's Vegas." After the game, Stewart said, "We all know they're going to give it their all. They got us last year, so we definitely wanted to keep going and get back to the Finals and make up for what we didn't do last year." Last season, the Liberty lost to the Aces in four games in the WNBA Finals. But it was a different story for first-place New York, who went 6-1 against Las Vegas this season, including the playoffs. The Liberty started the series well, jumping out to a 2-0 lead, but couldn't beat the Aces in Game 3. Las Vegas clinched a narrow victory and set a WNBA record with 12 straight home playoff wins. But the Aces were under pressure heading into Game 4, as no team in WNBA history has ever overcome a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five playoff series. Sunday's game was close throughout, but after the Aces took a 3-0 lead with their first basket, they never reclaimed the lead the rest of the game. The Liberty took a 53-51 lead into the fourth quarter and began the final period on a 16-2 run to pull away from the Aces. Three-time MVP A'ja Wilson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Kelsey Plum added 17 points in the Aces' losing effort. Despite the big win, Ionescu stressed that the team is focused on bringing home the franchise's first WNBA title. "We haven't accomplished anything yet, that's clear to all of us," Ionescu said. "We want to go up and continue to be the best team we've been. We still have three more wins to go and it's really important that we understand that. Nothing's been given to us yet, so we have to go out and attack." The Liberty will next face the winner of the semifinal game between the Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx, which is tied at 2-2. Game 1 of the WNBA Finals will be held on Thursday, October 10th.
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