Liberty close out in 4th quarter to end Aces’ three-peat bid, book trip to WNBA Finals

It was hard not to deliberation of last year’s Game 4 of the WNBA Finals portion watching Sunday’s Game 4 of the semifinal round.

Last year, Breanna Stewart came up abbreviated — 3-of-17 successful that elimination crippled — and went into the offseason with the value of disappointment connected her shoulders.

And Sabrina Ionescu was constricted portion dealing with a hep wounded sustained successful the postseason.

On Sunday, the duo corrected those wrongs. They led the Liberty to a 76-62 triumph implicit the Las Vegas Aces to destruct the two-time defending champions.

The imagination of an Aces three-peat are over. Becky Hammon’s squad were incapable to go the 2nd squad successful WNBA past to unit a decisive Game 5 aft being down 2-0 successful a best-of-five series.

And the astir talked astir portion of past remained: nary squad successful WNBA past has ever travel backmost from a 2-0 deficit.

After scoring conscionable 4 points successful a miserable Game 3, Ionescu contributed a game-high 22 points. Stewart recorded 19 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. But 3 of her 5 blocks successful the last play loomed ample successful her team’s propulsion to the WNBA Finals.

She got 2 connected Kelsey Plum wrong a infinitesimal past Ionescu followed up with a trey astatine the 5:47 people to headdress 7 unanswered points and enactment the Liberty up 11. Jonquel Jones‘s trey with nether 5 minutes to spell made it a 10-0 run. Leonie Fiebich‘s escaped throws with 3:38 near successful regularisation pushed the tally to 12 unanswered and the pb to 16.

At that constituent triumph was close, but Stewart’s last artifact implicit MVP victor A’ja Wilson astatine the 2:27 people surely took the aerial retired the arena. The antiaircraft show was portion of a 4th fourth wherever the Aces went scoreless for 4 and a fractional minutes.

And it kept the Liberty’s hopes of securing the franchises archetypal WNBA rubric alive.

The one-sided decorativeness felt awfully antithetic than the commencement of the game.

Jackie Young continued wherever she near disconnected successful Game 3 with a trey to enactment the archetypal points connected the board. But the Liberty responded with a 10-0 tally successful the opening quarter. After Young’s made archetypal shot, the Aces missed 7 straight, including 3 missed Young layups — an contented Hammon complained astir aft Game 2.

The Libs led by arsenic galore arsenic 8 points successful the first, getting a resurgence from Ionescu aft her Game 3 dud. Ionescu surpassed her Game 3 constituent full (four) wrong the archetypal fewer minutes and yet changeable 4-of-4 (including 3 made treys) for 12 points successful the opening period.

But the Aces fought backmost and shortened the shortage to 4 going into the second.

Liberty went connected different 8-0 tally starring to the team’s archetypal double-digit pb midway done the 3rd arsenic the Aces were successful penalty.

The Aces inactive crawled backmost into the crippled — similar two-time defending champions are expected to do.

Fiebich gave her opponents a interruption aft signaling her 3rd foul with 5:06 remaining successful the second. Then Jones — similar she did successful Game 3 — got into foul occupation again aft a questionable determination to clasp Wilson connected a overgarment introduction feet distant from the basket.

That forced 2 of Sandy Brondello’s best, lengthy defenders to the seat portion the Aces fought for their lives.

The aforesaid mode Fiebich’s lack showed, truthful did Jones’. While being fronted by the overmuch smaller Kayla Thornton, Wilson sealed, received an introduction walk and drew a foul to get to the foundation stripe. Wilson shortened the shortage to one, but Stewart’s extremity made the people 41-38 going into halftime.

Now it was gut cheque time.

This was the aforesaid juncture the Liberty were wrong striking region earlier getting demolished, 21-6, successful the 3rd 4th of Game 3. In that matchup, the Liberty looked lifeless and succumbed to the unit wrong Michelob Ultra Arena.

On Sunday,  they looked shaky with 3 turnovers successful the archetypal fewer minutes (five wide successful the quarter). And they were forced to upwind the tempest with Jones and Fiebich some picking up foul idiosyncratic fouls. Sloppy possessions connected some ends — leap balls, traveling violations and missed escaped throws — led neither squad to spell into the 4th with momentum. Brondello’s squad managed to narrowly suffer the quarter, 13-12.

And luckily for the Libs, Young’s buzzer-beating half-court heave that shook the location arena and would’ve fixed her squad a one-point vantage was wiped disconnected aft authoritative review. And the Liberty entered the last play up, 53-51.

Then the Aces collapsed. They mislaid the last period, 23-11. There was nary patented Wilson takeover. Overall, the Liberty constricted them to 5-of-16 shooting successful the last period.

The Houston Comets remaining the lone WNBA franchise to execute a three-peat. There volition beryllium a caller champion successful 2024. The Liberty present await the victor of the Connecticut Sun-Minnesota Lynx series.

Game 1 of the WNBA Finals begins Thursday astatine Barclays Center.