BROOKLYN, NY. — A late push by the Las Vegas Aces fell short in an 88-84 defeat to the New York Liberty in Game 2 of the WNBA Semifinals Tuesday night in Brooklyn. The Aces, who now trail the Liberty 2-0 in the best-of-5 series, must win three straight games in order to keep their 3-peat hopes alive. A’ja Wilson, who scored 12 points in the final stanza, finished with a team-high 24 points and 7 rebounds; Jackie Young had 17 points and 6 boards; Chelsea Gray scored 14 and handed out 5 dimes; Alysha Clark added 13 points and Tiffany Hayes chipped in 10.
New York was led by Sabrina Ionescu’s 24 points.
Historically, New York has the advantage in this situation.
In the history of the WNBA playoffs, no team has successfully overcome a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-five series. The only exception occurred in 2018 when Phoenix managed to extend their series to a Game 5 against Seattle.
“Being up 2-0 is great, but we haven’t won anything,” Ionescu said. “Everyone knows that. Did what we were supposed to do, protect home court. Win two at home. We’re not patting ourselves on the back, talking how happy we are. We didn’t come to win two games at home and be satisfied, we’re a hungry group.”
The Aces shot 30 of 69 from the field (.435), and 12 of 27 from 3-point range (.444), while the Liberty made 33 of 67 (.493) overall and 9 of 29 (.310) from distance.
The Liberty scored 13 points off their 19 trips to the line and the Aces were 12 of 19 from the stripe.
The Liberty outscored the Aces 44-24 in points in the paint.
The Aces outscored the Liberty 18-11 on second chance points.
New York outrebounded Las Vegas 35-29.
The Aces gave up 22 points on 13 turnovers, while flipping New York’s 12 miscues into 14 points.
The Aces return home for Games 3 and (if necessary) 4 of their WNBA Semifinals series against the Liberty. Game 3 is slated for Friday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 pm PT on ESPN2, while Game 4 will take place on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 12 pm on ABC. Game 5, if necessary, will return the teams to Brooklyn Tuesday, Oct. 8 on ESPN2 (time TBD).
Photo/NYLiberty/X
