Game Status Update: Riquna Williams—out (lower back)

LAS VEGAS (June 28)—The much-anticipated first regular season match-up between the Las Vegas Aces (13-1) and New York Liberty (10-3) will tip-off Thursday, June 29 at 7 pm PT at Michelob ULTRA Arena, and will be broadcast on Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network and Amazon Prime Video and on the radio at ESPN Las Vegas.

• Game Notes

The Aces and Liberty have been dubbed ‘Superteams’ by members of the media and WNBA fans after offseason signings changed the make-up of both teams.

The Aces picked up Candace Parker, a two-time WNBA champion, two-time WNBA MVP, seven-time All-Star selection and two-time Olympic gold medalist, as well as two-time WNBA champion and two-time All-Defensive Team selection Alysha Clark.

With Parker on board, the Aces’ starting line-up, which is scoring 79.1 points of the team’s league-high 92.8 points per game, is now comprised of four No. 1 WNBA Draft selections and five Olympic gold medalists.

In addition to Parker, the starting five for the Aces are 2022 WNBA Finals MVP Chelsea Gray, a five-time All-Star; 2021 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year and 2022 All-Star MVP Kelsey Plum; two-time WNBA M’VP and 2022 Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson; and 2022 WNBA Most Improved Player and WNBA All-Star Jackie Young.

New York, meanwhile, now boasts two-time WNBA champion, two-time WNBA Finals MVP and two-time Olympic gold medalist Breanna Stewart, 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones and 2021 WNBA champion and six-time WNBA assists leader Courtney Vandersloot, all of whom were signed in the offseason. The Liberty starters, who combine for 70.6 of the team’s 88.0 ppg, also include 2020 No. 1 draft selection and 2022 All-Star Sabrina Ionescu and 7-year WNBA veteran Betnijah Laney, the 2020 WNBA Most Improved Player.

Young is averaging a career-best 19.9 ppg (6th in the W), while shooting 57.9% (3rd) from the field and 48.4% (3rd) from 3-point range; Wilson is averaging 19.6 ppg (7th), 9.4 ppg (6th) and 2.2 bpg (2nd), and shooting 52.9% (5th) from the field; Plum is averaging 17.1 ppg and 3.9 apg; and Gray rounds out the Aces double-digit scorers at 14.4 ppg, while adding 3.6 rpg and 6.6 apg (3rd) and shooting 49.0% (2nd) from 3-point.

New York features five players scoring in double figures. Stewart leads the Liberty and ranks 2nd in the W with 22.6 ppg and 10.3 rpg, while adding 1.7 bpg (4th) and connecting on 48.5% from the field. Ionescu is contributing 16.1 ppg, 4.5 apg and 5.6 rpg, while hitting 42.2% of her shots from beyond the arc; Vandersloot adds 11.3 ppg and a league-best 8.6 apg; Laney is chipping in 10.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 2.2 apg; and Jones adds 10.0 ppg and 6.7 rpg

The teams rank Nos. 1-2 in the league for scoring, assists and blocked shots per game, field goal and 3-point field goal percentage, and advanced statistics such as net rating, offensive efficiency rating, assists to turnover ratio, assist ratio, effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage.

With their June 26 win against Indiana, the Aces moved into a tie for No. 3 in league history for victories before a 2nd loss on the season.

NEXT OPPONENT

The Aces have two more games remaining in their five-game homestand from July 1-5, starting with No. 3 Connecticut Sun (12-4) on July 1 and No. 6 Dallas Wings (7-8) on July 5.

The Aces and Sun played twice earlier this month in Connecticut, with the teams splitting the series with one win apiece. The Aces took the first game on June 6, 90-84, while the Sun rebounded for a 94-77 victory on June 8.

In Game 1, the Aces held a 48-31 lead at halftime, were up 70-53 going into the final period, and held off a fourth-quarter surge from Connecticut for the 6-point win. The unselfish Aces assisted on each of their first 13 made field goals and rounded out the night with 25 dimes on 32 buckets. Wilson scored a game-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds; Young finished with 22 points, 7 caroms and 6 assists; Plum notched 17 points and 6 assists; and Gray chipped in 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Rebecca Allen, who had 2 points in the first half, tallied 14 points in the 4th quarter and topped out for the Sun with 22 points. Alyssa Thomas grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and scored 14 points.

In Game 2, Connecticut halted the Aces 11-game winning streak thanks to the hot hand of DeWanna Bonner, who scored a career- and franchise-high 41 points (16-23 FGs). The Aces received 16 points from Plum, Wilson scored 13 to top the 3,000-point career scoring mark, Gray notched 12 and Young had 10. Las Vegas was held to a season-low 77 points and made 46.7% of its shots from the field overall, after making 30.8% in the first quarter, while Connecticut hit on 52.9%. Thomas dished out 12 assists for the Sun.