The matchup of the WNBA superteams was as advertised for twenty minutes of basketball at the first game in the Playoff Finals between the NY Liberty and Las Vegas Aces on Sunday.
Then the Aces delivered a gut punch to the Liberty after half time, en route to a blowout 99-82 home victory over the league's best road team. Las Vegas guard trio of Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray was dominant, outscoring the Liberty's backcourt 38-10 in the 2nd half, when the game was put away with a series of Ace’s runs that made the outcome a mere formality.
Liberty reserve guard Marine Johannes helped the Liberty stay on top early by leading the team in first-half scoring with 14 points on 5-6 shooting from deep on a series of balletic, off-balance and one-legged 3-point shots.
Jonquel Jones nearly had a double-double in the first half, with12 points and 9 rebounds, while MVP Breanna Stewart added 10 points and 5 rebounds to send the Liberty into the locker room holding a 49-46 lead.
Johannes, a French native who along with center Han Xu is the longest-tenured NY Liberty, was shut out in the 2nd half, putting up a donut on 0-3 shooting. When asked why the French guards 2nd half scoring dropped, coach Brondello said “They trapped her, they took the ball out of her hands” and “their defense was as good as I’ve ever seen it.”
Starting Liberty guards Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionesco brought in a total of17 points and four rebounds in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Kia Defensive Player Of The Year A’ja Wilson contributed 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in the victory and was a handful for Liberty’s center Jonquel Jones.
When asked what could be done to limit her foul calls when guarding A’ja Wilson, Jones said: “Just being smart out there, getting the feel for the game and understanding how the refs (are) calling it”
Looking forward to game-two of the finals series, which resumes Wednesday, October 11 in Las Vegas, Coach Sandy Brondello sounded confident when she said “We haven't lost two in a row all season long, I trust these players, and we're going to keep competing and fighting.”
