BROOKLYN, NY (August 6, 2023)—The New York Liberty (22-6) outscored the Las Vegas Aces 30-9 in the third quarter Sunday evening, and 50-17 in the second half to even the season series between the clubs and send Las Vegas to just its third defeat of the year with a 99-61 win at Barclays Center. Sabrina Ionescu led all scorers pouring in 31 points as the Liberty drained 17 of 38 shots from 3-point range. New York also held Las Vegas to its worst shooting night of the year, as the Aces connected on 32.9 percent of their shots from the field.
Box Score | Photos | Highlights
KEY RUNS
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 22, New York 19)
Las Vegas scored 6 of the first 10 points of the game, but the Liberty went on an 8-0 causing Becky Hammon to call a time out. Eight straight Aces points out Las Vegas back on top. Jonquel Jones elbowed A’ja Wilson in the face on a post move with less than a minute remaining and was assessed a flagrant foul. After getting checked out in the locker room, Wilson drained both free throws to put Las Vegas up 20-17. Jackie Young led the Aces with 8 points in the period. New York committed 4 turnovers which Las Vegas flipped into 6 points.
Second Quarter Highlights (New York 49, Las Vegas 44)
The Liberty opened the second stanza on a 10-0 run to go up 7, 29-22. The Aces put together an 11-3 run of their own to retake the lead, but it was short-lived as a Sabrina Ionescu 3 put New York back on top where they remained the rest of the game. New York outscored the Aces 8-0 in second chance points. Ionescu scored a game-high 17 points in the quarter
Third Quarter Highlights (New York 79, Las Vegas 53)
New York scored the first 8 points coming out of intermission to extend its lead to 13, 57-44. A pair of Wilson free throws ended the run, but the Liberty closed out the quarter scoring 15 of the last 20 points to go up by 26. New York made 12 of 19 shots from the field, including 5 of 9 from distance while Las Vegas missed 14 of its 17 field goal attempts.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (New York 99, Las Vegas 61)
The Liberty extended their lead to as many as 42 in the quarter. Breanna Stewart outscored the Aces by herself, 11-8, as Las Vegas went 4 for 16 from the field, including 0 for 7 from 3-point range.
KEY STATS
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The Liberty shot 50.0 from the field while the Aces made 32.9 percent of their shots.
New York made 17 of 38 shots from 3-point range, while the Aces went 6 for 23.
The Liberty outscored Las Vegas 36-26 in the paint.
New York outscored the Aces 20-0 in second chance points.
GAME NOTES
The Aces’ 61 points are by far their fewest scored in a game this season (77 at Connecticut on June 8)
It was also the lowest field goal percentage (.328) for Las Vegas in a game this year (.409 vs. Indiana on June 26).
The Aces franchise record for largest margin of defeat is 40 points vs. Seattle on June 22, 2003 when they were the San Antonio Silver Stars.
The 38-point margin of defeat is the largest for the team since it moved to Las Vegas (36 vs. Connecticut on May 20, 2018.
The Aces’ 24 rebounds are tied for the second fewest they have grabbed in a game since moving to Las Vegas (23, September 3, 2020 vs. Connecticut)
NEXT UP
The Aces remain on the road, traveling to Dallas Tuesday, August 8 to take on the Wings at 5 pm PT.