Aces 88, Liberty 75: Unfinished drama
Aces were wild as the champs made clear to the challengers there’s still all to play for
The best seasons are the most dramatic, right? So let’s get all reality-TV and dive into some of the drama surrounding Thursday’s 88-75 Las Vegas Aces win over the New York Liberty.
First scandal: Where are the sneakers? Ahead of tip-off, Sabrina Ionsecu noticed her classic look was missing a crucial piece. Her missing, stolen sneakers.
The controversy surrounding “Shoegate” was heightened given the fact that the Sabrina 1s are modified for the star’s injury-prone ankles. Also, the Liberty had just won their first Commissioner's Cup, toppling the Aces two nights earlier in Las Vegas. Every Liberty player earned a pretty $30,000 while picking up their second win against the Aces this season. That may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind the Aces have only lost four times since April. Four. The Liberty handed them half of those.
At the end of the two team’s game a couple nights earlier, Ionescu threw the ball up in the air with time remaining to celebrate the win. An early celebration. The Aces wouldn’t forget that. So, shoes missing, pockets stuffed, morale high for the Liberty, drama turned up for the Aces: let’s get into some basketball.
One play. One play stands out from the Lib offense in the first quarter. Sabrina, the 3-point all-time champ, got her shot swatted by Kiah Stokes, an all-ball block that sent the ball out of bounds with two on the shot clock.
What happened next?
On the inbound, Ionescu, stepping into rhythm, threw up the same three and sank it as the buzzer sounded. Before that, Jonquel Jones drained the first three of the game. The Liberty led 18-14 with 3:30 to go and Breanna Stewart headed to the free throw line out of a time out. Until that, she was 0-for-unlucky with her shots.
The Aces’ Jackie Young then picked up her first points of the game, draining a three. Not quite a momentum killer, except the Liberty couldn’t answer on the other end, with Betnijah Laney getting called for a 3-second violation. Laney then fouled Young on the other end, and before you knew it it was all tied up at 19.
The Aces went on a run in the latter half of the first quarter, helped in large part by Chelsea Gray, who drove down a clear lane (uh-oh) and picked up another two points, on track to finish with a monster triple-double: 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, the first triple-double in Aces history. Defensive stops, capitalizing on fouls and efficient passing launched the defending champs on a 12-4 run in the first. The Liberty lost Laney with a minute to go when she picked up her second foul, reminiscent of the quick three she picked up in Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup final.
The swag the Liberty donned in the first couple minutes, chucking up confident threes and utilizing mismatches, was lost by the final minute. The Aces, on the other hand, seemed to be everywhere, forcing fouls, draining mid-range shots and – most notably – fiercely driving to the lane and finishing, something we did not see out of All-Star Stewie, who was not her usual dominant self.
Marine Johannés, Stefanie Dolson, Kayla Thornton and Courtney Vandersloot took the floor with Stewie to start the second, scoring only a few points before Ionescu and Jones checked back in. The Liberty could not turn things around, as Gray and Young were just too much offensively, including a ridiculous three by Young with a minute to go in the half.
Shooting 47% from three definitely means you can pull up for three in transition in my book.
The Liberty were down and desperate for scoring. The Aces kept rolling to secure a 53-40 advantage at the half. Efficiency was the name of the game for Vegas in the first half, turning the ball over only twice. In the second half, the Liberty did a better job sharing the rock, swinging the ball and finding one more pass. They put up a healthy 24 points to the Aces’ 15 in the third. Fast-forward to a five-point game, five minutes to go in the fourth. Back-to-back turnovers by the Liberty, a foul, and an A’ja Wilson putback made it a nine-point game. Later Plum, a 3-point champ in her own right, drained a three to make it 82-72 with under four minutes to go. Game time, right?
Wrong. The Liberty couldn’t score after a Laney layup and couldn’t take advantage of a 5-on-4 after Young got the wind knocked out of her and stayed underneath the Liberty basket while her team ran its offense on the other end. Wilson powered her way to the hoop, laying it in and taking a 12-point lead.
These teams both sit at #1 in their conference, their playoff position well-established. Something tells me they both have some unfinished drama to take care of later this month when the Aces visit Barclays.
