Brooklyn, NY—-The New York Liberty have been emphasizing all season that they’re a transformed team, and on Sunday, they proved it.
Despite blowing a 20-point lead against a Las Vegas Aces team missing star A’ja Wilson, the Liberty still managed to secure a victory. In past seasons, they might not have been able to recover, but this year is different.
Breanna Stewart led the Libs offense with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds on 57% (8-14) shooting from the hardwood.
The Liberty (28-6) held on for a 75-71 win over the Aces (22-12) in front of a sellout crowd of 15,393 fans. This victory brings the Liberty to 29-6, marking their best start through 35 games in franchise history.
“We just stay composed,” Ionescu said. “We took great shots when we needed to, get the ball in the right people’s hands. Fought for every ball and got stops when we needed to. Obviously it wasn’t a pretty win, but you got to be able to win ugly.”
New York became the first team to sweep the defending WNBA champions since 2021, when the Chicago Sky went 3-0 against the reigning champion Seattle Storm and later claimed the 2021 WNBA Championship.
The Liberty dominated in the paint, outscoring Las Vegas 36-16 in that area. Defensively, New York held the Aces to just nine points in the second quarter and has been responsible for four of the last five single-digit scoring quarters by the Aces, going back to August 8 of last season.
The Liberty have grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds in their last three games, the second-longest streak of the season. They’ve totaled 105 offensive rebounds over the past nine games, the highest for any nine-game stretch this season.
Kelsey Plum led the Aces with 25 points and six assists.
New York also extended their WNBA record for games with at least 15 assists, making it 106 consecutive games.
Next up: The Liberty will take on the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, September 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET at College Park Center.
