An early matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty was played as their final game of the series, with one win against each other. This was an early tip-off game, two days after their previous matchup. After a close game on Tuesday night, fans wondered how this early morning matchup would end. During Thursday’s early matchup, the Aces close out series against Liberty with a 108-74 win.
First Half
The Aces came out strong in the first quarter. Starting off on a 12-0 run, the Liberty remained scoreless for nearly three minutes. The Aces made their first ten shots in the first quarter. At one point during this quarter, they led by 24 points. The 10 consecutive makes set a franchise record for most consecutive makes to start a game. This was one field goal away from matching the WNBA record. The Liberty were struggling to make shots, but Natasha Howard was able to put the Liberty on the board with important buckets for her team.
In the second quarter, the Aces, at one point, extended their lead to 35. A combination of the Aces’ defense and the Liberty’s struggle to make shots, the Aces were able to limit the Liberty to 36 first-half points. A huge part of the Liberty’s success is Sabrina Ionescu and she was 0-5 from the field in the first half. The Aces outscored the Liberty in the first quarter alone but finished the half with 71 points. The 71 first-half points broke a WNBA record for points in the first half.
Leading the Aces at the end of the first half was A’ja Wilson with 20 points, Kelsey Plum with 17 points and Chelsea Gray with 16 points. These three players combined outscored the Liberty as a whole 53-36. Natasha led for the Liberty with 17 of the Liberty’s 36 points.
Second Half
Despite the Aces’ dominant first half, the Liberty put their best foot forward in the second half. In the third quarter alone, both teams scored 21 points, but the Aces’ large first-half lead allowed them to continue the significant lead. The Aces were able to get every player in, rotating out starters which rarely happens. The Liberty had a solid first half compared to the Aces’ second-half scoring. In addition to Howard, performances from Michaela Onyenwere and Marine Johannes allowed the Liberty to perform well in the second half.
The leading scorer for the Aces was Wilson with 25 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Plum also had a phenomenal performance with 21 points and Gray with 16 points. A huge component of the Aces’ offense came from Riquna Williams, or “Bay Buckets,” as Coach Hammon says, with 13 points off the bench. All but one of the Aces players scored, showing this team’s versatility. Howard led with 19 points for the Liberty, Johannes with 10 and Onyenwere with 14, but this did not match up with the Aces’ scoring.
The Aces finished the game shooting 53.5% from the field, while the Liberty only shot 34.9%. The Aces also had a high 3-point percentage (48.5%), with 11 made 3s in the first half alone and 16 total made 3s on 33 attempts. The Liberty had 8 made 3s on 26 attempts (30.8%). Las Vegas used not only their starters for scoring, but their bench had 33 points which is the most they’ve had so far this season. Their early domination allowed them to win and bring in all the players. The Aces close out series against Liberty with a 108-74 win.
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