There was build up. There was let down.

The stage is set. The lights dimmed after two undercards. Time for the main event, the newest show in two cities on opposite sides of the United States. Fans traveled by thousands to watch the new rivalry, the battle of the basketball best: the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. 

The show begins in Sin City, where the hustle, energy and glamour surrounding Michelob Ultra Arena seep inside and charge up ten thousand fans. For a 3:00 Sunday tip-off, the WNBA headlines Las Vegas and the two best teams in the league perform all-systems-go for 2023’s remaining be-all, end-all games. It marks a significant point in the career of Sabrina Ionescu, in the Finals for the first time. Ahead of the game, she opened up about her feelings ahead of the showdown: "Enjoying the moment, not losing sight of that everyone's goal is to get to this point. Being proud of what we've accomplished this far. We're a new team and we've gotten so far. It's important not to lose sight of that."

The Liberty have accomplished a lot this season, and with their star power were expected to end up here, in the greatest part of the season. The first quarter was quick-paced and the Liberty went on a 15-6 to finish the first quarter ahead 25-22. So, did they come out firing exactly how they’d practiced the week leading up?

“A lot of urgency, and you know, force,” was Coach Brondello’s goal was for the team to start the first quarter of this Finals run.

“We haven’t done anything yet,” she added. “We’ve got bigger goals.”

The Liberty aren’t just happy to be here; they have players like Sabrina who have never won a Finals, but also accomplished stars who wouldn’t want to come this far just to come this far. In a game of runs, Brondello knows their best chance at an early edge was playing like they were meant to be there and ready for the task at hand. The Liberty continued their rise into the second quarter, totalling a 23-9 run before the home team responded with a 10-2 run of their own.

Although freshly crowned MVP Breanna Stewart and 2022 MVP A’Ja Wilson are the players to watch in this series, it was the not-so-familiar faces of Marinne Johannés and Kelsey Plum who did most of the scoring in the first half. Racking up four threes on five attempts, Johannés led the Liberty in the first half with 14 points while Plum added 14 for the Aces. If you watch any highlight reel from this game besides Wilson’s block, please watch the circus shots the French star put up.

It might seem wild to say that Plum is not so familiar of a face on a reigning champ, but that just speaks to the greatness of the two rosters. Plum also teased minority owner Tom Brady, seated courtside, for “finally showing up” to an Aces game. Plum and Jackie Young each finished with 26, with Young adding four assists and three steals. As for the MVPs, Breanna Stewart led the team with 21 points, 9 rebounds, while A’ja Wilson put up 19 and 8. 

“We get paid to shoot,” Wilson famously said during her MVP year. That’s certainly what these teams did to start the game, the Liberty putting up 20 3-pointers in the first half alone while the Aces were going 40% from deep. Down low, Jonquel Jones recorded yet another double-double, continuing her postseason streak. She finished with 16 and 10 while taking the lion’s share of the task of defending Wilson, a job she says the refs make even more tough.

Jones left the court at one point after tweaking her ankle, but came back to seal the deal. “I’ve kind of carried that chip with me since 2019, regardless of who it is I’m going against,” the former MVP said about being back on the biggest stage after losing there with the Sun a year ago. 

Jones and Stewie had their responsibilities heightened in the second half, when the guards weren’t putting as much defensive pressure on the home team. The Aces edged it out, their 20-8 run from the third to the fourth quarter helping them gain distance from the Liberty, winning the game 99-82. The matchup will continue Wednesday at 9:00 at Michelob Ultra Arena.