WNBA: A’ja Wilson led a second-half rally as the Las Vegas Aces upset the visiting New York Liberty 70-69 on Wednesday night to win their second straight WNBA championship. Wilson finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds.
The Aces won Game Four to claim a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five series, becoming the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002 to win consecutive WNBA titles.
Even though the Liberty had a 12-point lead at one point, Las Vegas surged ahead at the end of the third quarter. The Aces outscored the Liberty by six straight points to take a 70-64 lead, holding off their last flurry despite Courtney Vandersloot’s missed game-winning jump shot at the buzzer.
Chelsea Grey and Kiah Stokes, two starters who had foot injuries in Game Three, did not participate in the Aces’ victory.
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The WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, Alysha Clark, started the game with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Cayla George, who replaced Stokes, scored 11 points and nailed three triples while Jackie Young contributed 16 points and seven assists.
“We’ve had trouble all season, playing without various players…We have some combatants that are professionals,” Clark remarked.
“To remain present each and every day while enduring what we went through. Being in this situation right now and completing it jointly says a lot about us and our chemistry.
With 2:44 left in the game, New York’s Jonquel Jones used an offensive rebound to equalise the score at 64-64, and the Aces went ahead. With 1:27 left, Wilson moved away from her opponent and made a mid-range shot to increase the score to 70-64.
Sabrina Ionescu made a jumper from the foul line and Vandersloot nailed her fourth three-pointer of the game to reduce the margin to one, but their play with eight seconds left resulted in an airball.
Vandersloot paced the Liberty with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Breanna Stewart had 10 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists while shooting 3-for-17. Ionescu scored 13 further points, and Betnijah Laney added 15 more.
Eight Aces turnovers allowed The Liberty to gain a 23-13 advantage in the first period. With 2:33 remaining in the first half, Kelsey Plum’s layup helped the Aces close the gap to 31-30.
Kayla Thornton made a 3-pointer in the corner after Laney booted a ball she had intercepted under the basket. As a result, New York went on an 8-0 run to end the half and led 39-30 at halftime. First-half scorers Vandersloot and Laney both tallied 12 points.
In the third quarter, George hit a pair of three-pointers a little over a minute apart to spark her squad.
Clark scored the last six points in a 9-0 Aces flurry to conclude the period. Her two free throw attempts, which she made with 19 seconds left, gave Las Vegas its first lead since 9-8. The result changed to 51-51 following her layup.
Early in the fourth, Young’s five points helped make it 60-53 Las Vegas before the Liberty scored seven straight baskets to tie it and set up the nail-biting finish.
