The Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty are doing battle in the WNBA’s Commissioner Cup finale. Keep track of all the action!
Get up for the Cup!
The WNBA’s in-season competition is set to come to an end on Tuesday night and a familiar match-up will play for the Commissioner’s Cup: the Las Vegas Aces have come east to face the New York Liberty, continuing a rivalry that has stood the test of time.
The two sides previously played for both the in-season and postseason titles, splitting that set when the Liberty won the Cup and the Aces took the Finals. No matter who prevails, the winner will become the first two-time hoister of the Cup, as Las Vegas previously took the 2022 edition.
New York and Las Vegas have already met once this season, with the Liberty taking an 87-76 decision in Sin City exactly one week ago. The Aces will go for revenge without franchise face A’ja Wilson, who is out with a leg injury.
Keep track of all the happenings from Brooklyn with BIL’s in-game tracker below …
FINAL: Liberty 93, Aces 85
Aces (85)
POINTS: Jackie Young (31)
ASSISTS: Chelsea Gray/Jackie Young (7)
REBOUNDS: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (8)
Liberty (93)
POINTS: Sabrina Ionescu (26)
ASSISTS: Sabrina Ionescu (5)
REBOUNDS: Breanna Stewart (11)
MVP: Breanna Stewart (25 points, 9-of-16, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals)
4th Quarter: Liberty 93, Aces 85
0.0—One more Loyd miss is secured by New York, and the Liberty officially becomes the first two-time winners of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.
15.7—After a failed series of daggers and extenders (including a rare Young miss), Ionescu hits a backbreaking three, giving her 26 for the night and an eight-point lead. Timeout Vegas (93-85 NYL)
1:21—Young breaks the third decade with three at the line. Drawing three on a Jones foul, she successfully sinks, extending this game’s lifespan (90-85 NYL)
1:28—Ionescu buckles down and scores two more on a drive after a New York stop (90-82 NYL)
2:08—Stewart off a Fiebich feed puts New York back up six. (88-82 NYL)
2:26—Young refuses to let go. Her three cuts the lead to four (86-82 NYL)
2:37—Astier to the line after Parker-Tyus’ fourth foul. Two single go. (86-79 NYL)
3:05—Carter converts her burglary of Stewart into a fastbreak double, fouled by Astier in the process of the make. Back-to-back threes (Carter makes the free throw) make this one close again almost immediately (84-79 NYL)
3:21—The Aces … namely Young … aren’t done yet. Young immediately responds with another three. (84-76 NYL)
3:39—Ionescu, another three. Liberty back up 11 (84-73 NYL)
3:58—Carter stifles the New York run with two at the foul line. Stewart on the charge, her second (81-73 NYL)
4:07—Jones to the line after Vegas goes over the limit on a Loyd loose-ball foul. Jones hits two, Liberty goes back up double digits thanks to a dozen in a row since Ionescu and Stewart’s re-entries. (81-71 NYL)
4:52—Ionescu finds a streaking Astier after Parker-Tyus misses a triple in the corner. Bedlam in Brooklyn as Las Vegas calls a timeout. (79-71 NYL)
5:27—Fiebich gets a rebound and takes it the other way, hitting two and drawing Gray’s fifth foul. However, she misses the free throw. Liberty are 3-of-8 on free throws in the second half after being a perfect 17-of-17 in the first 10. (77-71 NYL)
5:49—Young gets her fourth foul while stopping a Stewart drive. Stewart hits one as post experts Parker-Tyus and Smith return to the game. (75-71 NYL)
6:12—Stewart rebounds her own miss for two after the Liberty defend their end. (74-71 NYL)
6:55—Fiebich gets a fifth foul charge. She remains in the game. It’s New York’s first of the period.
6:59—Immediately after Ionescu returns to the game, Stewart finds Astier for a three and the lead back. Vegas gets it in their end and calls timeout. (72-71 NYL)
7:25—Young feels 22 with yet another two, this one giving Vegas its first lead. (71-69 LVA)
7:47—Another possession, another Young double for the tie (69-69)
8:02—Gardner finds immediate redemption on the other end with a lay-up (69-67 NYL)
8:25—Young, appropriately, ties the game after stealing one from Gardner (67-67)
8:58—A Bell three, following a traveling against Fiebich, cuts the lead to two (67-65 NYL)
9:17—Gray charged with her fourth foul, the first of the period. She remains in.
9:46—Johannes opens the third with an acrobatic double (67-62 NYL)
3rd Quarter: Liberty 65, Aces 62
0.0—Johannes misses a three before Bell launched a desperation heave that falls short. Vegas ends the period on a 17-5 run over the last six-plus minutes.
23.7—Young coverts a different kind of three, scoring on a drive against Astier, who is charged with the foul. One-possession game after she sinks the free throw (65-62 NYL)
33.0—Two quick Vegas fouls (and Jones’ re-entry) puts New York in the bonus. Jones hits one of two. (65-59 NYL)
47.8—Following a Ionescu offensive foul, Young finds a wide-open Bell, who converts to cut the lead to five. (64-59 NYL)
1:09—Young scores a three, Vegas’ second of the period and third overall. Down to seven. (64-57 NYL)
1:44—Off the pick, Stewart scores off another feed from Ionescu (64-54 NYL)
1:59—Vegas responds physically in kind, with Parker-Tyus scoring while fouled by Carrera. She hits the freebie, cutting the gap to eight. (62-54 NYL)
2:10—After a strong defensive possession, Ionescu finds Stewart for a two down the lane. (62-51 NYL)
3:08—A Gray three cuts the lead below 10. (60-51 NYL)
4:31—Fiebich charged with her fourth on a Carter drive. Combined with a prior Young two, Carter sinks one. (60-48 NYL)
6:18—Young and Astier exchange highlight doubles to keep the difference at 15 (60-45 NYL)
6:48—Off the feed from Ionescu, Stewart earns an and-one on a Smith foul. The free throw is missed. (58-43 NYL)
7:05—Ansty New York calls a timeout after Loyd sinks a three. (56-43 NYL)
7:32—Young’s third foul puts Ionescu at the line for two. She hits one. (56-40 NYL)
7:42—Smith stops the mini-New York run (55-40 NYL)
8:04—Stewart gives New York a new largest lead (55-38 NYL)
9:22—Stewart opens New York scoring on the other end (53-38 NYL)
9:38—Fiebich’s third foul gives Vegas long-awaited free throws. Smith makes one of two (51-38 NYL)
Halftime Leaders
Aces (37)
POINTS: Chennedy Carter (12)
ASSISTS: Chelsea Gray (4)
REBOUNDS: NaLyssa Smith (5)
Liberty (51)
POINTS: Sabrina Ionescu (17)
ASSISTS: Jonquel Jones (3)
REBOUNDS: Jonquel Jones (6)
2nd Quarter: Liberty 51, Aces 37
0.0—Carter sinks a jumper as time expires in the half. She leads Vegas with a dozen in relief as halftime hits. (51-37 NYL)
5.9—Gray’s second puts Stewart right back at the line. She hits both. Liberty end the period a perfect 17-of-17 from the foul line (Vegas is but 1-of-2) (51-35 NYL)
56.7—Ionescu adds to her tally with a flailing drive for two (49-35 NYL)
1:27—After she hits a double, Carter picks up her third foul that sends Stewart to the line. Carter remains in the game while Stewart sinks both. (47-35 NYL)
2:45—Ionescu’s drive gives the Liberty its biggest lead of the night (45-33 NYL)
3:15—Gray’s second puts Ionescu to the foul line via penalty. Ionescu hits both. (43-33 NYL)
3:30—Though denied free throws, Young nonetheless gets her two. (41-33 NYL)
3:32—Stewart is charged with her second foul on a Young try. Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco calls for a review. Timeout on the floor. The call is overturned, though Las Vegas does retain possession.
4:26—Vegas’ fifth foul of the period, and Parker-Tyus’ third, sends Jones to the line. She hits both. Smith and Carter re-enter the game for the Aces. (41-31 NYL)
4:47—Young hits a two out of the timeout (39-31 NYL)
5:07—Ionescu to double-figures and Vegas to a timeout after she sinks another three (39-29 NYL)
5:43—Johannes sinks a three out of the New York timeout off the feed from Stewart (36-29 NYL)
5:53—Fourth foul of the period from the Aces, as Parker-Tyus (her second) fouls Ionescu shortly after Young gets Stewart. Timeout Liberty.
7:19—Young makes her first on four tries from the foul line (33-29 NYL)
7:40—Jones sinks two at the line after Gray’s first foul. Fiebich, Ionescu, and Stewart all re-enter between singles. (33-27 NYL)
8:22—Doubles for Smith and Carter sandwich one of the fastbreak variety for Gardner after a Jones block (31-27 NYL)
9:23—New New York entrant Raquel Carrera is fouled by Smith, to the line for two. She hits them. (29-23 NYL)
9:47—Carter loses a shoe but drives well enough to open second quarter scoring (27-23 NYL)
1st Quarter: Liberty 27, Aces 21
0.0—New York musters another Astier double and she sets up a late opportunity with a robbery of Gray, but that’s it for the first, as the Libs don’t get the ball up on the ensuing possession. Nonetheless, they lead by six after 10. (27-21 NYL)
31.5—Fiebich’s second foul comes on a two for Parker-Tyus, who hits the freebie. Fiebich likewise remains in the game. (25-21 NYL)
47.3—Rebekah Gardner scores on a drive and his fouled by Carter, her second. She completes the three-point play and Carter remains in the game. (25-18 NYL)
1:24—Liberty calls a late timeout following a Parker-Tyus putback and a Jackie Young steal of Johannes becoming another fastbreak couple for Carter. Vegas has scored eight bench points on a night where Wilson is sitting. (22-18 NYL)
2:09—Chennedy Carter gets two more Vegas bench points but Stewart hits two on a Parker-Tyus foul (22-14 NYL)
2:59—New entrant Marine Johannes responds to a Bell two with an acrobatic tally of her own (20-12 NYL)
3:35—Gray scores upon her re-entry. (18-10 NYL)
3:48—Stewart hits a pull-up to boost the lead back up to 10 (18-8 NYL)
4:10—Gray has re-entered the game, alongside Kierstan Bell.
4:38—Jewell Loyd turns an interception of Ionescu into a fastbreak double while being fouled by Stewart. Score the two and she gets a free throw after an official’s timeout. She misses. Gray returns to the Vegas bench (16-8 NYL)
5:06—Breanna Stewart gets on the board with a responsive drive for two (16-6 NYL)
5:24—Granted a third chance through offensive rebounds, Smith scores for the Aces (14-6 NYL)
5:56—Astier goes to the line after she’s fouled by Chennedy Carter, who chcked in for Stephanie Talbot. Cheyenne Parker-Thomas enters between free throws for Turner (who also picked up afirst quarter foul). Astier hits both. (14-4 NYL)
6:57—Pauline Astier responds on the New York side (12-4 NYL)
7:10—Smith breaks the Liberty run on the other end (10-4 NYL)
7:25—Previous Commissioner’s Cup final MVP Jonquel Jones penetrates for two (10-2 NYL)
8:11—Another three for Ionescu, the exclusive scorer for New York thus far (8-2 NYL)
8:30—Ionescu sinks her first three of the game, putting the Liberty back ahead (5-2 NYL)
8:32—Leonie Fiebich and Gray make head contact on the New York end. Fiebich walks away from Gray is down and limps to the locker room with the training staff. The play is under review for a hostile act. Incidental contact is the call. Brianna Turner steps in for Gray..
9:13—Chelsea Gray responds with a foul line double on the other end (2-2)
9:35—Sabrina Ionescu drives against Jackie Young to score the first points of the game (2-0 NYL)
10:00—Jonquel Jones wins the tip from NaLyssa Smith, and the game is underway
Pregame
Game Info
WHAT: WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Final
WHO: Las Vegas Aces (14-5, 6-1) at New York Liberty (12-8, 6-0)
WHERE: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, Prime Video
WAGER: NYL —6.5 (o/u: 173.5)
Starting Lineups
ACES: Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, NaLyssa Smith, Stephanie Talbot, Jackie Young
LIBERTY: Pauline Astier, Leonie Fiebich, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart
Injuries
ACES: Janiah Barker, OUT (leg), Dana Evans, OUT (leg), A’ja Wilson, OUT (leg)
LIBERTY: Satou Sabally, OUT (concussion protocol)
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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