New York fill face Las Vegas next month in the Commissioner’s Cup final

The Fever won the Draft this year, landing South Carolina star and all-time leader in way too many categories Aaliyah Boston. They also won the tip against the New York Liberty in Indianapolis last night. Well, specifically, Boston matched up against WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, and won the tip to teammate Erica Wheeler, who would pass back to Boston against Jones down low, backing her into the paint and finishing with her right hand. 

Back in May, the Liberty faced off against the Fever for the first time this season, securing the win 90-73. To round out the month, the Liberty played their first two home games, and won them both. They’d just lost preseason matchups against the Connecticut Sun and the Las Vegas Aces, then fell to the Mystics 80-64 to kick off the regular season.  

The team many said had won the offseason wasn’t winning. Well, they weren’t winning yet. The Liberty hosted the Fever and Breanna Stewart had one of the iconic performances in WNBA history, dropping 45 points and hauling in 12 rebounds, along with six made threes. “The crowd was electric, and really couldn’t have written it any other way,” Stewart said afterwards. The Liberty won every quarter of that game except for the fourth, when they put up a measly five points to the Fever’s 18, but the last-ditch effort wasn’t enough. 

Fans may have felt some déjà vu last night. This time the Fever came out firing on all cylinders, winning the first quarter 26-22. The Liberty then won the second and third, but couldn’t manage to string it together to end regulation. That brings us to one of my favorite moments in life: overtime basketball. 

Before we can get there, I would be remiss if I did not highlight some notable plays that got us to the final seconds of the game. I know this is a Liberty article, but I have to mention Kelsey Mitchell’s fadeaway jumper with under five in the first, a shot over six-footer Betnijah Laney that would put the Fever ahead 12-9. 

Stewie then went on to do what she does, draining an in-your-face three to tie it up, then repeating the feat. 

The Fever were going off in that first quarter: Mitchell draining from deep, Boston securing offensive rebounds and posting whoever had the near-impossible duty of guarding her, and rookie and former Indiana Hoosier Grace Berger turning in the best game so far of her young career with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, a line only one other WNBA rookie has ever put up.. She even had a highlight-reel  iso  against Marine Johannès, shaking and baking until Johannès lost her footing and fell and Berger laid it up and in. 

In the second quarter Courtney Vandersloot’s court vision and shot creation elevated the Liberty and allowed her to connect with the open player, including a no-look pass to Sabrina Ionescu cutting down low. To no surprise, Vandersloot led both teams with 12 assists. She is, after all, the league’s leading passer, averaging 8.7 assists a game. She had eight in the first half alone. In the third, notable Liberty highlights included a Ionescu four-point play, a Betnijah Laney buzzer-beating jumper, Laney then driving to the hoop and showing everyone down low who’s boss and Jones sinking yet another three.

It looked like it was all Liberty with just about a minute to go in the third; they led  70-48. When I see numbers like that, I am inspired by former NBA champion Richard Jefferson’s “time of death” call: the moment where teams could roll over and let the loss happen to them. Emma Cannon wouldn’t let that happen. The Rochester native went on a 7-0 run by herself. Cannon is the same player who was on the Aces, the Sun, and the Fever all in one season in 2021. This season, she is averaging 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds. Last night, she finished with 19  and eight, just behind Boston’s 23 and nine. Respect.

Okay, let’s just get down to it, then. The Liberty had a three-point advantage in the final seconds, and if you couldn’t tell by now, they did not keep it. With milliseconds remaining, Boston chucked up a three, and sank it. Goosebumps, I know.

It’s always fun to watch a forced overtime, and if you want more goosebumps, watch NaLyssa Smith hobble over to celebrate while wearing a boot.

In OT, the Liberty proved too much for the Fever, although it could’ve gone either way. Ionescu scored the first points of the added time, a deep three she paired with another later that gave the Liberty a four-point lead with just over a minute left. She finished with seven triples, good for 34/6/5 on the night.  

With the win, the Liberty will be facing off against the Aces in mid-August in the Commissioner’s Cup final. This weekend, Stewie, Sab, and Sloot will be playing in the All-Star game at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. Last year, those three were all All-Stars, along with Jonquel Jones. The squad will resume regular-season play next Wednesday against the Dallas Wings.