The task was always going to be tall for the Las Vegas Aces without four-time MVP A’ja Wilson in the fold.
With Wilson nursing an ankle injury after rolling it late in the Aces’ win against the Chicago Sky on Sunday, it was all about the next-woman-up for the defending WNBA champions in their 93-85 Commissioner’s Cup championship defeat to the New York Liberty on Tuesday.
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Despite missing out on league-leading 25.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game from Wilson, the Aces gave the Liberty all they could handle, losing by a smaller margin than last Tuesday’s 87-76 stumble in Las Vegas.
Paced by 31 points from Jackie Young, the Aces took the Liberty right down to the wire and on another night, they could have been the team hoisting the trophy. With the win, however, New York became the first two-time champions in the competition’s short history.
“I thought we gave ourselves a chance to win,” coach Becky Hammon said. “Then, a couple of kind of bonehead plays, things that we could have easily handled and we just didn’t. We had a couple of nice looks at the end, they didn’t go in.
“You have to shoot the three fairly well against this team, but with that being said, we needed one more player to have a big game and we just weren’t able to do it tonight. But I’m proud of the effort. I thought we competed and I’m proud of the way we buckled in and fought for each other.”
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Three-point efficiency was one of a few things the Aces could have done without while being short-handed against one of the league’s elite teams.
Las Vegas went 6-for-26 from beyond the arc and got to the free throw line just 14 times. And while the Liberty also shot the deep-ball poorly (7-for-25), they more than doubled Las Vegas’ free throw attempts and makes (24-for-29).
The Aces fell into a 14-point hole at the half — New York led 51-37 — largely thanks to an ice cold start from three-point range. The Aces were 0-for-11 going into the third quarter and the misses continued until Jewell Loyd hit a 24-footer with 7:09 remaining in the frame, ending a streak of 13 straight blanks.
The Aces had no starters with more than six points at the interval. Chennedy Carter was the lone bright spot offensively with 12 of her 18 points coming in the first 20 minutes.
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On the other side, Sabrina Ionescu’s 17 points had set a new season-high in the first half — en-route to a breakout 26-point performance. Ionescu poured in eight in the fourth quarter, including a 33-foot bomb that proved to be the final-score-setting dagger with under a minute left in the ball game.
Ionescu made five of New York’s seven three-pointers. Breanna Stewart was named the Commissioner’s Cup championship MVP on the back of her double-double (25 points, 11 rebounds). Rookie Pauline Astier chipped in with 15 points for the hosts.
Hammon said that she is never surprised when Ionescu has a great game and the fact she came into this game struggling offensively (sub 40% FG) did not play in her mind at all.
Hammon was pleased with the Aces holding the Liberty to just 14 points in the third quarter, helping them get back into the contest. However, the 28 points given up in the fourth were a blemish.
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Young erupted for 25 points in the second half, including 10 straight in the third quarter as the Aces closed out the frame on a 17-5 run to make it a three-point game heading into the last 10 minutes.
“It was just about getting [Young] the ball and freeing her up,” Hammon said of Jackie’s second-half scoring display. She also praised Liberty’s Leonie Fiebich and Stewart for being really difficult to expose on the defensive end.
“[Young] will get cooking, though. Just give her the ball and she will find her spots,” Hammon added.
“I just had to be aggressive, knowing that it is crunch time, trying to do whatever I can to help my team win,” Young said. “Unfortunately, we fell short tonight.”
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The Aces received more solid contributions from NaLyssa Smith (9 points, 6 rebounds) and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists), while Chelsea Gray was knocked out of rhythm a little by a first quarter head collision with Fiebich. Gray returned to the game in the second and went on to post 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Las Vegas claimed its first lead of the night with 7:12 remaining in the fourth quarter after Young put Astier in a blender on her way to the basket, making it 71-69. New York led by as many as 17 earlier, and the Liberty responded with a 10-0 run to retake the lead for good.
The Aces stayed in it, however, and while on her heater, Young had a chance to make it a one possession game with 39 second left to play — and the Aces down by five — but a smoked point blank layup enabled Ionescu to go the other way and deliver the fatal blow.
All in all, though, there may be even more positives to draw from this defeat for Vegas than there were after New York beat them a week ago.
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The Aces faced some adversity and found ways to navigate 40 minutes without Wilson with more success than not. They made the Liberty really uncomfortable down the stretch and it will be fascinating to see the adjustments both teams make for their third and final meeting of the campaign on July 30 back in Las Vegas.
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