Liberty trump Aces, close gap in race for WNBA's No. 1 playoff seed
The Las Vegas Aces got off to a hot start on Monday with a quick 8-point lead in the first quarter lead that prompted the New York Liberty to call a timeout. It was downhill from there.
The Liberty closed the first quarter with a 15-3 run to take control of the game en route to a 94-85 win in the final regular-season battle between the WNBA's top two teams. The Liberty threatened to run away with the game while extending their lead to 77-60 early in the fourth quarter. A late Aces run cut the Liberty edge, but Las Vegas never threatened to retake the lead.
With the win, New York improved to 28-7 and closed the gap with the first-place Aces (30-6) for the WNBA's No. 1 playoff seed to 1.5 games. The owner of the No. 1 seed would hold home-court advantage in a potential WNBA Finals matchup.
Las Vegas has four games remaining in the regular season, while New York has five. A Las Vegas win would have given the Aces a commanding 3.5-game lead with the season winding down. Instead, the two teams remain locked in a battle while the Liberty tied the season series at 2-2 to eliminate a tiebreaker.
Like she has many times this season, Sabrina Ionescu led the scoring effort for the Liberty. She scored 12 points during New York's tone-setting first quarter that included a 3-pointer to close the stanza and give the Liberty a 22-19 lead. She finished with 25 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals while connecting on 5 of 10 3-point attempts.
Fellow All-Star Breanna Stewart flirted with a triple-double while tallying 20 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Courtney Vandersloot added 17 points and a game-high 10 assists.
New York won despite foul trouble from Jonquel Jones, who went to the bench early in the second quarter after picking up her third foul. She played just 18 minutes and finished with four points while shooting 1 of 8 from the field. But she made her limited presence felt on the boards, where she tallied 10 rebounds as New York secured a critical 43-31 rebounding edge for the game.
The Aces saw their own foul trouble from All-Star Kelsey Plum, who fouled out with 3:35 left as Las Vegas tried to claw back into the game. She managed nine points, three assists and three steals while shooting 4 of 14 from the floor. Jackie Young led the Las Vegas effort with 24 points and five assists, while A'ja Wilson posted 23 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
