The Aces ran wild against the Liberty during a dominant second half Sunday, using a balanced offensive outburst to take Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
Four players recorded at least 19 points for the Aces, who outscored the Liberty by 20 after halftime to clinch a comfortable 99-82 win in Las Vegas.
Jackie Young scored a playoff career-high 26 points and took advantage of the Liberty guards in Game 1, especially Sabrina Ionescu. Young was the aggressor and led the Aces starting guards, who outscored the Liberty’s starting guards, 72-28. Kelsey Plum also scored 26 points and grabbed five rebounds for Las Vegas, while Chelsea Gray contributed 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
“Well we didn’t do a great job stopping them obviously,” head coach Sandy Brondello said postgame. Brondello noted that the Aces’ guards were able to do damage in the paint while also getting good looks from the perimeter.
Plum missed six of her seven shots from downtown but Young and Gray combined to drain eight of their 13 three-point shot attempts. Las Vegas made nine of 22 attempts from downtown (41%) in Game 1.
Young’s first two made field goals of the game came from behind the arc as Liberty defenders were too slow to close out on the two-time All-Star. Brondello pointed out that her team’s close outs on the perimeter weren’t good enough. That’ll need to adjust in the series moving forward.
“I think their movement got us out of position a little bit,” the Liberty head coach said. “One-on-one defense was critical for us. They got the upper hand in this game. It’s a series. We know we can defend better.”
Ionescu (6 points) failed to score in double-digits while Courtney Vandersloot and Betnijah Laney scored 10 and nine points, respectively, for the Liberty.
Sandy Brondello’s team started fast but was unable to make Marine Johannes’ hot start hold up. Johannes scored eight points through five minutes in the first quarter, including making two three-pointers after going 1-for-10 from behind the arc to begin the postseason. Her scoring helped put the Libs up three at the end of the first.
Johannes continued her shot-making in the second quarter and entered halftime leading all scorers with 14 points. She had scored just five points in the previous six postseason games.
She failed, however, to score a single point the rest of the way Sunday. Johannes’ failure to record a point in the second half was a result of the series’ first successful chess match move by Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
The Aces opened the second half trapping Johannes and they sent extra defenders on screen-and-roll opportunities.
“Which is probably what I would’ve done too,” Brondello said about the adjustments made on Johannes.
“Credit to them. Their defense was as good as I’ve ever seen it.”
Jonquel Jones continued her strong postseason for the Liberty with her seventh double-double of the playoffs, which is a WNBA record. Aces center Kiah Stokes started the game defending Jones and had some difficulty staying in front of the former MVP. Jones finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Jones appeared to tweak her ankle in the first quarter and went into the locker room but eventually returned to start the second.
The star center wasn’t hindered by the injury and doesn’t expect it to impact her status for Game 2.
“I just got it taped up but I’m feeling good,” Jones said postgame.
Jones scored eight points in the second quarter, and the Liberty entered halftime with a 49-46 lead.
But the Liberty didn’t come out with the same energy in the second half, and Aces superstar A’ja Wilson never turned off her motor.
The Defensive Player of the Year went on a sequence in the third that encapsulated her award-winning season. With a minute remaining, she drained a baseline jumper over 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart. Ten seconds later, she rotated on a defensive breakdown to swat Vandersloot’s layup attempt. Wilson went on to score two more points before the end of the quarter, helping her team go up seven to start the fourth.
Wilson ended Game 1 with 19 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists while making seven of her 11 shot attempts.
She also defended Stewart, who didn’t turn in her best performance. Stewart shot 8-for-19 from the field and scored a team-high 21 points. She also grabbed nine boards and dished two assists.
“I think that they continued to show a crowd,” Stewart said about the defense she faced in Game 1. “They do different things based on who’s matched up on me.”
Stewart and the rest of the starters were taken out before the final buzzer as Brondello waved the white flag down 15 with about 90 seconds remaining.
Brondello and the Libs will have a chance to even the series in Game 2 on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
