Demise. Taxes. Prime seeds dominating the lower-seeded groups within the WNBA playoffs. For those who like upsets, this postseason isn’t for you, however should you take pleasure in watching the perfect gamers reaching the heights of their potential, then these video games haven’t disillusioned.
A’ja Wilson dominated for the No. 4-seed Las Vegas Aces, scoring 24 factors and grabbing 13 rebounds to assist defeat the No. 5-seed Seattle Storm. Sabrina Ionescu had the perfect playoff efficiency of her profession, scoring 36 factors whereas meting out 9 assists to assist the the No. 1-seed New York Liberty sweep the No. 8-seed Atlanta Dream.
Each winners will now face one another in a much-anticipated second spherical collection, however earlier than we dig into that, let’s discuss how the Aces and Liberty received the roles executed.
Ionescu crushes the Dream
The Dream gave a valiant effort and even had a double-digit lead early within the second quarter, however the Liberty went on a 20-6 run and by no means regarded again, successful the sport 91-82 to advance to the semifinals.
Ionescu was the Queen of New York, with a efficiency becoming for a high contender. It wasn’t simply her playoff-high 36 factors, however how she did it. She knocked down 5 3-pointers, went 12-for-23 from the sphere and was an ideal 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Ionescu’s play led the cost for Liberty, nevertheless it was the performances of Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones that pushed them over the sting. The seasoned-rookie Fiebich had one other productive recreation, scoring 9 factors as a starter; she additionally had the best plus-minus on the workforce with a +18 on the night time. Jonquel Jones gave a stellar efficiency, dominating the glass with 13 boards and scoring 20 factors, whereas lacking simply 4 subject objectives.
Aces quiet the Storm
Don’t name it a comeback; the Aces have been right here for years. The back-to-back champs took care of the Storm and closed them out down the stretch to win the sport, 83-76.
It was a complete effort from Las Vegas, with elite play from their core gamers. Kelsey Plum scored 29 factors on 11-for-15 taking pictures, MVP A’ja Wilson had a double-double with 24 factors and 13 rebounds and Chelsea Grey was the Level Gawd, with just a few mesmerizing dimes on her technique to a nine-assist night time.
This collection was, on paper, a detailed matchup, being a No. 4-vs.-No. 5 collection, however the Aces maintained their dominance all through these pair of video games and reminded all of us that, regardless of their common season not trying as dominant as years prior, that is postseason basketball. And this present iteration of the Aces hasn’t gotten beat when it issues most in fairly a while.
Now, the Liberty and Aces will meet in a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals within the semifinals.
The Liberty had an opportunity final season, however couldn’t get it executed. With most of each groups’ cores in tact, we get this epic rematch. We’ll see if the Aces will return to the WNBA Finals for the third 12 months in a row or if the Liberty will return to the title spherical, trying to win their first WNBA championship.
