Death. Taxes. Top seeds dominating the lower-seeded teams in the WNBA playoffs. If you like upsets, this postseason isn’t for you, but if you enjoy watching the best players reaching the heights of their potential, then these games have not disappointed.
A’ja Wilson dominated for the No. 4-seed Las Vegas Aces, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to help defeat the No. 5-seed Seattle Storm. Sabrina Ionescu had the best playoff performance of her career, scoring 36 points while dishing out nine assists to help the the No. 1-seed New York Liberty sweep the No. 8-seed Atlanta Dream.
Both winners will now face each other in a much-anticipated second round series, but before we dig into that, let’s talk about how the Aces and Liberty got the jobs done.
Ionescu crushes the Dream
The Dream gave a valiant effort and even had a double-digit lead early in the second quarter, but the Liberty went on a 20-6 run and never looked back, winning the game 91-82 to advance to the semifinals.
Ionescu was the Queen of New York, with a performance fitting for a top contender. It wasn’t just her playoff-high 36 points, but how she did it. She knocked down five 3-pointers, went 12-for-23 from the field and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Ionescu’s play led the charge for Liberty, but it was the performances of Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones that pushed them over the edge. The seasoned-rookie Fiebich had another productive game, scoring nine points as a starter; she also had the highest plus-minus on the team with a +18 on the night. Jonquel Jones gave a stellar performance, dominating the glass with 13 boards and scoring 20 points, while missing just four field goals.
Aces quiet the Storm
Don’t call it a comeback; the Aces have been here for years. The back-to-back champs took care of the Storm and closed them out down the stretch to win the game, 83-76.
It was a total effort from Las Vegas, with elite play from their core players. Kelsey Plum scored 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting, MVP A’ja Wilson had a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Chelsea Gray was the Point Gawd, with a few mesmerizing dimes on her way to a nine-assist night.
This series was, on paper, a close matchup, being a No. 4-vs.-No. 5 series, but the Aces maintained their dominance throughout these pair of games and reminded all of us that, despite their regular season not looking as dominant as years prior, this is postseason basketball. And this current iteration of the Aces hasn’t gotten beat when it matters most in quite some time.
Now, the Liberty and Aces will meet in a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals in the semifinals.
The Liberty had a chance last season, but couldn’t get it done. With most of both teams’ cores in tact, we get this epic rematch. We’ll see if the Aces will return to the WNBA Finals for the third year in a row or if the Liberty will return to the title round, attempting to win their first WNBA championship.
