Young gets ‘downhill’ as Aces take 1-0 lead in WNBA Finals — PHOTOS
Less than two hours before tipoff Sunday, Becky Hammon might have tipped her hand.
The Aces coach was doing her pregame media availability for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals when she was asked which one of her players she considers an X-factor for the series. Hammon thought about it.
“I think Jackie Young could have a huge series,” Hammon said.
Young validated her coach’s confidence, scoring a playoff career-high 26 points on 60 percent shooting to lead the top-seeded Aces to a 99-82 win and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series against the No. 2 New York Liberty at Michelob Ultra Arena.
A crowd of 10,300 attended the game, including NBA superstar LeBron James, former NFL quarterback and Aces minority owner Tom Brady, WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and assembled members of the Brooklyn Nets, who play James and the Los Angeles Lakers at 6 p.m. Monday at T-Mobile Arena.
Young also made five 3-pointers to go with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. The All-Star guard’s previous playoff career-high mark was 22 points, achieved during Game 4 of the 2022 WNBA Finals.
Game 2 between the Aces and Liberty is 6 p.m. Wednesday at Michelob Ultra Arena before the series shifts to New York for Game 3.
“I thought I had an opportunity there to get downhill,” Young said. “I just tried to be aggressive the whole game, kind of take what the defense was giving me.”
All-Star guard Kelsey Plum also had a playoff career-best 26 points, while All-Star point guard Chelsea Gray and two-time MVP A’ja Wilson scored 20 and 19, respectively. The “Core Four” combined for 91 points, the most of any quartet in WNBA Finals history. The Aces shot 54.7 percent from the field and went 40.9 percent from 3 (9 of 22).
Newly crowned MVP Breanna Stewart scored 21 to lead the Liberty. Jonquel Jones, the 2021 MVP, added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“For us to weather the storm, go through a little adversity, kind of shake the rust off, and still get the win, it was really big for us,” Wilson said. “Obviously we still have a lot of stuff to grow and learn from, but it’s definitely a big win.”
The Aces needed someone to step up after trailing 49-46 at halftime. Their hot start from 3 had been erased by Liberty sharpshooter Marine Johannes, whose 14 first-half points off the bench led all players, and the Liberty’s defense was focused on stopping Wilson and Gray.
Young answered the call, scoring 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the third quarter. Her pullup 3 from the right wing with 7:29 on the clock gave the Aces their first lead since the first quarter, and her layup two minutes later capped a 14-4 run that changed the momentum of the game.
Young added a three-point play with five seconds remaining in the third quarter to extend the Aces’ lead to 72-65. She scored only two more points for the rest of the game — Plum and Gray combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory — but the Liberty never recovered from Young’s third-quarter onslaught.
“We gave her too many open looks,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “But then she’s such a strong guard getting to the rim, too. It’s an area where, hopefully, we can do a little bit better in the next game.”
While Young’s scoring helped the Aces, her defense likely won the game.
All-Star guards Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot combined for just 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting. Young was the primary defender on Ionescu, who scored seven after averaging 21.3 points during four regular-season games against the Aces.
Young was also vital to the Aces’ ability to blitz Johannes in pick-and-roll situations. Hammon’s defense forced the ball out of her hands in the second half, and Johannes went scoreless in the second half. Young credited her teammates, Wilson specifically, for letting her take risks defensively and providing help when needed.
“I think the biggest thing is just being confident,” Young said. “I know everybody believes in me and trusts in me.”
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.
