GAME PREVIEW—Aces Look to Even Semifinals Series vs. Liberty Tuesday
LAS VEGAS (Sept. 30, 2024)—The Las Vegas Aces are looking to even their WNBA Semifinals series against New York Tuesday, as they take on the Liberty at 4:30 pm PT on ESPN2.
The last time the Aces found themselves trailing 1-0 in a postseason series was in 2022 when the Seattle Storm won Game 1 of their Semifinals series in Las Vegas. The Aces won 3 straight games to advance to the WNBA Finals where they won their first league championship.
The Liberty won Game 1 of the best-of-5 series, 87-77, Sunday, behind 34 points from Breanna Stewart and 21 from Sabrina Ionescu. New York’s defense also limited Las Vegas to 77 points, 43.3 percent shooting from the field and 28.0 percent from 3-point range. New York has now won 4 straight games against Las Vegas having, swept the season series.
| New York vs. Las Vegas |
OER | FG% | 3G% | ORPct | TO% | DER | OppFG% | Opp3G% | DRPct |
| 2023 WNBA Finals (1-3) | 98.1 | .422 | .325 | .238 | .142 | 109.5 | .456 | .362 | .728 |
| 2024 Regular Season (3-0) | 103.8 | .427 | .301 | .276 | .145 | 92.8 | .394 | .357 | .869 |
| 2024 Semifinals (1-0) | 111.5 | .500 | .421 | .250 | .192 | 96.3 | .433 | .280 | .763 |
| Las Vegas vs. New York |
OER | FG% | 3G% | ORPct | TO% | DER | OppFG% | Opp3G% | DRPct |
| 2023 WNBA Finals (3-1) | 109.5 | .456 | .362 | .272 | .158 | 98.1 | .422 | .325 | .762 |
| 2024 Regular Season (0-3) | 92.8 | .394 | .357 | .131 | .135 | 103.8 | .427 | .301 | .724 |
| 2024 Semifinals (0-1) | 96.3 | .433 | .380 | .237 | .138 | 111.5 | .500 | .421 | .750 |
Kelsey Plum was the only member of the Aces to reach her seasonal scoring average and match or better her season field goal percentage.
| Kelsey Plum | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3G% |
| Regular Season | 17.8 | 2.6 | 4.2 | .423 | .368 |
| Semifinals Game 1 | 24 | 2 | 4 | .529 (9-17) | .500 (4-8) |
The rest of the Aces Core 4 scored 9.3 fewer points than their season averages, and although A’ja Wilson went 9 for 16 from the floor, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray combined to go 8 for 23 from the field, including 2 for 10 from distance. New York also limited Gray to just 1 assist, which is only the 3rd time since she signed with the Aces that the Point Gawd has been held to a single dime.
| A’ja Wilson |
PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3G% |
| Regular Season | 26.9 | 11.9 | 2.3 | .518 | .317 |
| Semifinals Game 1 | 21 | 6 | 5 | .563 (9-16) | .000 (0-1) |
| Jackie Young |
PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3G% |
| Regular Season | 15.8 | 4.4 | 5.3 | .430 | .337 |
| Semifinals Game 1 | 17 | 2 | 2 | .375 (6-16) | .286 (2-7) |
| Chelsea Gray |
PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3G% |
| Regular Season | 8.6 | 2.9 | 4.9 | .408 | .338 |
| Semifinals Game 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | .285 (2-7) | .000 (0-3) |
New York also limited Las Vegas’ bench production Sunday afternoon.
| Aces Reserves |
PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3G% |
| Regular Season | 15.0 | 7.2 | 4.1 | .412 | .338 |
| Semifinals Game 1 | 11 | 8 | 7 | .300 (3-10) | .200 (1-5) |
The Liberty won the first quarter in Game 1, 28-21, shooting 68.8 percent from the field (11 for 16) and 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. The Aces defense picked up the pace over the final 3 quarters, limiting New York to 59 points, 19 of 44 from the field (.432), and 4 of 13 from 3-point range (.308), but it wasn’t enough to erase the deficit.
| New York Offense |
Pts | Reb | Asts | FG% | 3G% |
| First Quarter | 28 | 7 | 10 | .688 (11-16) | .667 (4-6) |
| Quarters 2-4 | 59 | 24 | 12 | .432 (19-44) | .308 (4-13) |
Game 2, and if necessary Game 5, of the Semifinal series will be played at Barclays Center, while Games 3 (Oct 4. at 6:30 pm PT), and if necessary Game 4, are slated for Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. Game times and broadcast networks for the remaining games will be posted on LasVegasAces.com when they are announced.
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