WNBA: Liberty defeat Aces to return to Finals; Lynx-Sun heads to Game 5

It was a historic Sunday in the WNBA, with the No. 1-seed New York Liberty defeating the No. 4-seed Las Vegas Aces 76-62 and eliminating them from the postseason. The No. 3-seed Connecticut Sun, on the other hand, evened up their series, beating the No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx 92-82.

Let’s recap how New York and Connecticut handled business:

Death of a dynasty

If you come for the queen, you best not miss it. Sabrina Ionescu didn’t miss much on Sunday, hitting five 3-pointers to put the Aces away for good. She started hot, making three from deep in the opening quarter, and never looked back.

Ionescu may have led the charge and scored a team-high 22 points, but she didn’t do it alone. Brenna Stewart was superb, with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Jonquel Jones had a great game, scoring 14 points and pulling six boards. Her 3-pointer in the fourth quarter felt like a backbreaker. Leonie Fiebich was a defensive menace and once again gave the Aces fits. Courtney Vandersloot carried the bench, scoring all eight points for the New York reserves.

Las Vegas stayed in the game during the first three quarters but got out-executed in the fourth quarter. The Liberty got everything they needed from their core—from 3-pointers to steals to hitting their free throws late.

A’ja Wilson had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Kelsey Plum was explosive offensively, scoring 17 points. But for the first time in the Becky Hammon era, they fell short. The Liberty exercised their demons from last year and defeated the Aces. Now, they’ll head back to the Finals, awaiting the winner of Lynx versus Sun.

Win or go home

This contest was leaning in Minnesota’s favor during the first half, but in the second, Connecticut turned it up, outscoring the Lynx 49-32 while shooting 60 percent from the field as a team.

The Sun put on an offensive masterclass. DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas both scored 18 points, Tyasha Harris led the team with 20 points and Marina Mabrey scored 10 points off the bench.

The bulk of the Lynx’s production came from Napheesa Collier, who ended the night with 29 points. Natisha Hiedeman was big off the bench, scoring 16, but they’ll need more from the rest of their backcourt players in Game 5 if they want to be the team that makes it to New York. The good news is Minnesota will be at home in the winner-take-all all game on Tuesday.