Sabrina Ionescu scored 22 points, Breanna Stewart recorded a double-double and the New York Liberty used an explosive fourth quarter to end the host Las Vegas Aces’ bid for a three-peat and return to the WNBA Finals with a 76-62 win on Sunday.
Top-seeded New York won the semifinal series 3-1 and will face either the second-seeded Minnesota Lynx or the third-seeded Connecticut Sun in the best-of-five championship series, which begins Thursday. The Liberty have never won a championship and lost last year’s final to Las Vegas in four games.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” said Stewart, who bundled 19 points with 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
“This was a tough series, an emotional series for a number of different reasons, but we’re going to the Finals. … We’re ready to go. Just the feeling of not (being) satisfied.”
Ionescu added seven rebounds and made five 3-pointers, including one during a 12-0 run during the fourth quarter that pushed the Liberty ahead 69-53 with 3:38 left.
League MVP A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the fourth-seeded Aces. Las Vegas was trying to become the first WNBA team to win three straight titles since the Houston Comets won four in a row from 1997-2000.
Kelsey Plum added 17 points for the Aces, and Tiffany Hayes chipped in 11 off the bench.
New York limited Las Vegas to 32.8 percent shooting overall and outrebounded the hosts 48-27.
“Kudos to them. They’ve been the best team all year. Let’s be real,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of the Liberty. “Their group earned it.”
New York led 57-53 early in the fourth quarter before ripping off the decisive 12 straight points.
Courtney Vandersloot made two layups before Ionescu and Jonquel Jones (14 points) canned back-to-back triples to make it 67-53 just past the midpoint of the quarter. Leonie Fiebich’s two free throws capped the run and gave the Liberty a 16-point cushion. Fiebich finished with 11 points and seven boards.
Las Vegas shot just 4-for-17 in the final quarter and was outscored 23-11 over the final 10 minutes.
Ionescu shot 4-for-4 from the field and made three treys during her 12-point first quarter that ended with New York leading 23-19.
The Liberty went up 37-27 midway through the second quarter after Fiebich made a 3-pointer and Stewart split two free throws. Stewart led all first-half scorers with 15 points, but the Aces kept Ionescu scoreless in the second quarter and closed within 41-38 by halftime.
Both defenses clamped down as the teams combined for 25 points in a back-and-forth third quarter.
Ionescu’s fourth 3-pointer of the night propelled New York ahead 49-42 before Hayes’ two free throws pulled Las Vegas within 53-51 at the end of the frame. That margin stood after Jackie Young’s 55-foot heave for the Aces at the buzzer was overturned.
–Field Level Media
