Aces routed by Liberty in Cup final, suffer 1st home loss of season
New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton was called for defensive 3 seconds in the paint with 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter Tuesday.
It may have seemed like an unimportant moment in the Aces’ 82-63 loss in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game, but it provided a glimpse of New York’s defensive game plan.
The Liberty clogged the paint all night, holding the Aces to their second-worst shooting percentage of the season. New York defenders ignored any player not named Chelsea Gray, A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum or Jackie Young — the Aces’ Core Four — preemptively shifting into the paint to close 0ff driving lanes and contest shots around the rim.
“They keep the pressure on you the entire time,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “If you’ve ever played poker, you know applying pressure eventually breaks people, and they eventually fold.”
The Aces (27-3) failed to defend their Commissioner’s Cup crown Tuesday, losing for the first time all season at Michelob Ultra Arena, though the result on the in-season competition finale doesn’t count toward their regular-season record.
It’s the Aces’ second straight blowout loss to the Liberty (24-6) after a 99-61 defeat Aug. 6 at New York.
“We’ve shot poorly against this team two games in a row,” Hammon said. “You can’t beat a team shooting 19 percent when that team is shooting 43 percent. The math doesn’t work.”
Young led the Aces with 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting, while Gray and Plum scored 15 each. The team made just 19.2 percent of its 3-pointers.
Wilson, the reigning WNBA MVP, was held to nine points for the second straight game against the Liberty.
“This one hurts,” Gray said, “just the way that it happened on our home floor.”
Reserve guard Marine Johannes led all scorers with 17 points for the Liberty, who won their first Cup title, along with the $500,000 purse and an additional $10,000 charitable donation. New York center Jonquel Jones was named Cup MVP with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
The Aces and Liberty meet again at 7 p.m. Thursday for a regular-season game at Michelob Ultra Arena.
Here are three takeaways from the Aces’ loss:
1. Third-quarter collapse
Despite an awful shooting quarter to start the game — the Aces didn’t score their first points until the 6:29 mark — Hammon’s team rebounded to take a 34-32 lead into halftime. An 11-0 Aces run powered by Gray and strong defense seemed to give them all the momentum heading into the break.
Instead, the game got away from them in the third quarter. The Aces grabbed three rebounds in the entire period, while the Liberty had five offensive rebounds and six second-chance points. New York also went 5 of 9 from 3, including two 3s from Thornton late in the quarter to secure an eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
“We had 24 rebounds at halftime,” Hammon said. “We ended the game with 28. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that in my entire life.”
2. Depth makes the difference
The Aces’ bench was outscored by the Liberty 28-8, in large part because of Johannes. The French guard was on fire, making four of her first five shots, all 3-pointers. She finished the game with five 3s, the same amount as the Aces’ entire team. Thornton was also effective, scoring eight points and finishing plus-17 in less than 17 minutes.
In comparison, veteran forward Alysha Clark had four points and a steal for the Aces, but went 0 of 5 from 3. Second-year guard Kierstan Bell had no points in 10 minutes, and both players were minus-16.
“I ask a lot of our big four night in and night out,” Hammon said. “When they’re not flowing or hitting, it gets real tough.”
3. MVP Jones
Jones, of course, is no stranger to MVP awards. She was the league’s 2021 MVP when she played for the Connecticut Sun, but her transition to the Liberty hasn’t been smooth.
However, she was immense for New York in the Commissioner’s Cup. Her size bothered Wilson in the paint all night, as the Aces star went just 2 of 10 from the field, and Jones grabbed seven of the Liberty’s 12 offensive rebounds.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.
Wilson wins player of the week
Reigning MVP A'ja Wilson was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday, her third player of the week honor of the season and the 14th of her career.
Wilson averaged 29.7 points on 54.4 percent shooting, a league-best 11.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. She had a career-high 40 points against the Washington Mystics on Friday, tying the Aces' single-game scoring record set by Kelsey Plum earlier this season and breaking the WNBA record — which Wilson already held — for most points scored without making a 3-pointer.
Her 17 made field goals against the Mystics also set the Aces franchise record and are second in league history.
Wilson also had 14 rebounds to go with 28 points against the Dallas Wings on Aug. 8, her second-highest rebounding performance of the season. She moved into second on the Aces' all-time rebounding list during the past week as well, passing Margo Dydek (1,530). Wilson has 1,550 rebounds, trailing only Sophia Young-Malcolm (1,807).
