WNBA’s Main Event: Las Vegas Aces Pull Away From New York Liberty In Second Half, Claim Finals Game 1 With 99-82 Win Sunday
Story by Cassandra Cousineau and Alan Snel Photos by RJ Forbus
Sunday was a big win for the Las Vegas Aces and the WNBA.
It was bigtime basketball broadcast across the country on ABC-TV, with the Las Vegas Aces electrifying a sold out Michelob Ultra Arena with a terrific second half of play that catapulted the defending WNBA champs from trailing by three points at halftime to walking off the court with a 99-82 win over the New York Liberty.
The Aces now lead the Best-of-5 Finals one game to zero, with Game 2 set for Wednesday back here at Mandalay Bay at 6 PM.
The Aces game was the place to be, with Aces part-owner Tom Brady joining Aces majority owner Mark Davis at courtside, with LeBron James and Mark Wahlberg adding star power to the first game of the WNBA Finals. Ashanti supplied the halftime entertainment, while Jordin Sparks did a fantastic job on the national anthem.
More than 10,000 fans watched the Aces outscore New York, 53-33, in the second half — and that gave the reigning WNBA champs the first game.
Game 2 is sold out, but there are tickets on the secondary market. For example, tickets are available for as low as $28 on the TicketIQ ticket website:
The Aces trailed, 49-46, at the half.
But the Las Vegas team turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, with Aces guards Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum taking over the game in the third quarter.
The Aces built their lead to more than 20 points in the fourth quarter.
“There will be adjustments made,” Plum said. “They’re a great team, and we’re in a war.”
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Finally.
The talk of super teams and season MVP voting was over and they played ball.
The defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces hosted the New York Liberty on national TV at 12 noon Las Vegas time here on the Strip at Mandalay Bay. The Aces, at 34-6, and New York, 32-8, clearly separated themselves from the rest of the league and start the much-anticipated, much-hyped Best-of-5 championship series today. It’s a sellout of 10,000 plus for Games 1 and 2, which is set for Wednesday. If a Game 5 is required, that deciding contest is also sold out.
It was 11:15 AM when the Aces’ A’ja Wilson — who has emerged as the face of the WNBA — and the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart were practicing their jump shots and moves around the basket as a palpable buzz was already beginning at Michelob Ultra Arena.
Interestingly enough, the two teams have played each five times — splitting four regular season games with New York winning the Commissioner’s Cup special game — and none of the games has been closer than nine points for the final margin of victory.
LVSportsBiz.com asked Aces coach Becky Hammon why the games have not been close at the end. Hammon said one team shot the ball well and the other team did not.
Hammon expects today’s game to go down “to the wire.”
In her pregame remarks on radio, Hammon said, “Last year I felt that we were much better than the other team. This year, I still think we’re better. But if we lose focus, open the door, or get lazy on defense, New York is going to make up pay.”
Hammon said she’s relying heavily on Wilson: “A’ja is our leader, and I always trust Chelsea as an extra coach out there. I have the most intellectual team that I’ve ever been around.”
The WNBA is adding a team in San Francisco to the 12-team league. Here’s league Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Engelbert on Las Vegas:
I think Las Vegas, such an important market. It’s kind of a sports capital, an entertainment capital, and there wasn’t a professional basketball team here.
So the Aces kind of led as the first ever to win a professional championship here in the city of Las Vegas, and then obviously the Golden Knights follow that.
I’m sure Mark Davis is hoping the Raiders will follow that.
But really thrilled with, again, the fan base that has been built here, the ability to put that team on the court a few years ago when they moved, and really just grow into the superstars that they are today through both draft and free agency.
Again, it’s another good story coming off our 2020 collective bargaining agreement where we opened up free agency of a team that has put together some homegrown, as well as some free agents to create a championship culture and a championship team.
The city is really — I said this last year after they won, the city of Las Vegas has really embraced this team. You used to come in and come from the airport and the cab driver wouldn’t know who the Las Vegas Aces were, and now everybody in the city knows who the Las Vegas Aces are.
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The game lived up to its hype in the first quarter.
Both teams came out firing, with the Liberty taking a 25-22 lead after the Aces had an early lead.
The Aces trailed, 49-46, at the half but surged ahead by five points — 60-55 — in the third quarter as Jackie Young was asserting herself on the offensive end.
Then, the Aces Big Four of Wilson, Young, Plum and Gray took over,
Both Young and Plum each scored 26 points apiece, while Gray supplied 20 and Wilson scored 19.
