POSTGAME RECAP
The Las Vegas Aces have now dropped three out of their last four games as the two-time world champions lost to the New York Liberty 90-82 at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Saturday.
“I tell it to their face right now, we don’t have an edge and we have not had an edge since day one in training camp,” Hammon said. “We can sit here and say we don’t have Chelsea and there is an element of that, but we still have enough.”
The finals rematch had a different outcome largely thanks to New York forward Jonquel Jones’ third straight 20 plus point game recording 34 points on the day. Defensively, the Liberty took advantage of the Aces’ mistakes recording eight steals and winning the battle on the boards 37-31.
Vegas guard Kelsey Plum put up the team high of 22 points while A’ja Wilson continued to set WNBA records with her 21 points, which was her 17th straight game scoring 20 plus points. However, the center got emotional after the game saying all she cares about it winning with her team rather than her individual accolades.
“It’s really, really hard,” Wilson said. “Y’all say best player in the world, that’s great, it looks great, but I want to be the best person, I want to be the best teammate cause that’s how I get the best out of my team.”
Next up, Las Vegas (6-6) hosts the Seattle Storm (9-4) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
GAME UPDATES
4TH QUARTER
FINAL: New York beats Las Vegas 90-82
2:40 - Jones with the three, 86-68 New York
5:12 - 81-68 Liberty
7:15 - Betnijah Laney-Hamilton with the bucket, 72-62 New York
8:12 - Fiebich puts New York up by 10, 70-60 Liberty
3RD QUARTER
0:00 - 67-60 Liberty
3:15 - Leonie Fiebich with the layup, 58-53 New York
4:08 - Jones ties up the game for the Liberty at 53
6:33 - Aces come out of halftime hot, 53-47 Vegas
2ND QUARTER
0:00 - Jones goes 2-2 from the line, 45-43 Liberty at halftime
1:35 - Plum gives the Aces their first lead under nine minutes in the 1st quarter (6-0), 41-39 Aces
2:05 - Plum with the and-one to then go 1-1 from the line, 39-38 New York
2:47 - Plum makes it a two-point game, 37-35 Liberty
3:41 - Breanna Stewart sinks the bucket, 27-21 New York
7:04 - Kelsey Plum with the jumper to make it a one-possession game for the Aces, 30-27 Liberty
1ST QUARTER
0:00 - Sabrina Ionescu's three gives the Liberty a 28-20 lead at the end of the 1st quarter
3:15 - Jonquel Jones with the triple for the Liberty to take an eight-point lead, 22-14 New York
GAME PREVIEW
The Las Vegas Aces look to take on arguably their tallest task yet as they host the New York Liberty for a world championship rematch on Saturday.
The Aces beat their most recent opponent, the Phoenix Mercury on the road snapping their three-game losing skid, while the Liberty come into the matchup on a seven-game winning streak.
Vegas guard Jackie Young had a career night against the Mercury recording a career-high of 34 points while A'ja Wilson is making her case for being this year's MVP for the league.
The star center has set records for the most consecutive 20-point games with 15, the most 25-point games with eight and the most points scored through the first 11 games of the season with 315.
Guard Chelsea Gray is listed as questionable as she continues to recover from a lower left leg injury. Tip off between the Aces and the Liberty is set for noon.
