Aces eviscerate Liberty in first matchup between WNBA superteams
The Aces led by seven points coming out of halftime during their 98-81 win against the New York Liberty on Thursday. Three minutes into the third quarter, the lead ballooned to 18.
An 11-0 run out of the break, which began with a Candace Parker layup and ended with a Jackie Young 3-pointer, drew raucous applause from the 9,587 fans at Michelob Ultra Arena, forcing the Liberty into a timeout.
“We just tried to clamp down on the defensive end, get out in transition,” guard Kelsey Plum said. “And then it was just players making plays.”
The Aces (14-1) made a statement with their victory against the Liberty (10-4) in the first regular-season game this season between the WNBA title favorites.
Plum led all scorers with 18 points and had eight assists. Reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson added 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Parker tied her season-high with 15 points, making three 3-pointers.
All five Aces starters reached double figures midway through the third quarter. It’s the seventh consecutive win for coach Becky Hammon’s squad, and the Aces remain undefeated at home.
Their plus-15.5 average point differential is a WNBA record through 15 games.
Breanna Stewart, the 2018 WNBA MVP, led the Liberty with 16 points, and 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones added 13.
“Just a real solid 40 minutes for us,” Hammon said. “From the jump, we came out locked in and assertive on the defensive end, and they know what to do on the offensive end.”
Before the game, New York point guard Courtney Vandersloot said her team was focused on defense.
“We want to win the game, and to go win the game, we need to defend,” she said. “We have a challenge ahead of us, obviously.”
Plum quickly erased any ideas of a defensive battle. She scored 13 points in the first quarter on 5-of-7 shooting, relentlessly pressuring the rim. Plum took advantage of her matchup against Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, and also had five first-half assists.
The Aces scored 28 points in the first 10 minutes, punctuated by an Alysha Clark layup to beat the first-quarter buzzer. Plum got some help later in the half from veteran point guard Chelsea Gray, who scored nine of her 14 points in the first half, and Parker, who made multiple 3s for just the third time this season.
New York cut the deficit to seven just before halftime, mainly through Stewart. She scored 14 points in the first half, while Jones added 10 points, with several of her baskets coming on put-back layups.
Ionescu, a second-team All-WNBA guard in 2022, was held to seven points while being guarded mainly by Plum. Former All-Star Betnijah Laney only scored three points for New York.
The Aces’ third-quarter explosion clinched the game, as they outscored the Liberty 27-14. The Aces shot 55.6 percent from the floor during the period, assisted eight of their 10 made field goals and forced five Liberty turnovers that the Aces turned into six points.
The Aces also broke their season-high assist mark,with 32 assists on 40 made field goals. The Aces only turned the ball over eight times, while forcing 17 New York giveaways.
The Aces led by 27 at one point. Stewart scored only two points in the second half.
“Defensively,” Hammon said, “I was really happy with our effort and our focus.”
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.