The Liberty finally hoisted their first piece of hardware in the team’s 26-year history.
The 2023 Commissioner’s Cup ended with an upset, a result that left the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas silent. That’s because the New York Liberty took down the Las Vegas Aces, 82-63, to win this year’s in-season tournament. It was an all-out effort that surprisingly neutralized the WNBA’s defending champions — and previous Commissioner’s Cup winners — for the second time in 10 days.
“I think this Commissioner’s Cup is a step in the right direction for us as a team to be able to put the pieces together and move towards the ultimate goal which is to win the championship,” star Jonquel Jones said. “Anytime you’re able to be part of a first is always a special thing.”
Jones’ 16 points and 15 rebounds in the championship game continued her dominant post-All-Star break play and awarded her with the game’s MVP award. Her teammates showered her with praises as WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the center as MVP. Moments before receiving the accolade, she provided the final blow that all but cliched the win for the Liberty.
With just over two minutes remaining, she battled down low with Aces big Alaina Coates draped all over her. Jones corralled her seventh offensive rebound of the night and mustered enough strength to score a putback layup as the referee whistled for a foul. She then calmly made the free throw and put her team up 20. It was the final blow and another reminder how well the center is playing after healing from last season’s foot injury.
Jones’ presence was felt on defense as well. Her efforts contributed to the team holding MVP candidate A’ja Wilson to just nine points on 2-of-10 shooting in 35 minutes of action. It’s now the second consecutive game Jones won the battle against Wilson. Ten days prior, the reigning MVP scored nine points in the 38-point Liberty rout at Barclays Center. In the last two matchups combined, Wilson has shot 4-of-24 from the field from the field in 60 total minutes of action.
That kind of defensive prowess wasn’t on display for Jones in her first games in a Liberty jersey prior to the All-Star break. The star acknowledged her big turnaround postgame.
“Just me being proud of myself and being able to just figure it out and sticking with it when things weren’t materializing. So it’s definitely a high point right now,” Jones said about recent success after her slow start to the season. “It feels really good to look at the trophy but also have the Commissioner’s Cup win.
“So yeah, it definitely has a lot of meaning for me right now. I’m just happy to be playing good basketball and feeling like myself out there.”
Throughout the 2023 season, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello called on her bench to play with more confidence. More specifically, she called on guard Marine Johannes to play with freedom and fearlessness that awarded her the EuroCup Women’s Finals MVP in April while playing with French club LDLC ASVEL Féminin.
That player came to play on Tuesday.
Both teams started the highly anticipated Commissioner’s Cup Game like they were shooting on a smaller hoop. The Liberty and Aces went scoreless in the first three and a half minutes. It took 14 possessions until Wilson knocked down a pair of free throws to break the scoreless tie.
“We spoke about that at halftime. I just thought [Las Vegas] was playing a bit more physical and getting into us a little bit more,” Brondello said about the slow start. “We weren’t moving the ball as well as we should have been.
“We just tried to focus on that — getting a little bit more ball-player movement and opening up the floor a little bit more and that worked for us.”
Johannes was first to catch a spark. She came off the bench to hit back-to-back three-pointers that gave her team a 17-8 lead. She continued in the second quarter and put the Libs up 11 after another pair of treys. Her first four makes in the game came from downtown as she eventually finished with five made in the game. The sparkplug contributed a game-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.
The freedom was on display. She connected on transition threes and one-legged jumpers that have made her a fan favorite in New York.
“She’s special,” Brondello said while laughing. “We love Marine and we always want her to be aggressive. I think she overthinks a little bit. With Johannes sitting right next to her, the head coach later added: “Don’t ever think Marine just shoot it. That’s what you do.”
The first half was a see-saw battle. After their slow start, the Aces went into halftime up two. They followed the lead of floor general Chelsea Gray. In the final moments of the second, Gray completed an old-fashioned three-point play that led the Michelob Ultra Arena crowd to erupt. It capped an 11-0 run that totally erased the sluggish start. It was a whole new game after that.
But just like the previous two games in this series, the winner jumped out ahed in the third. The Liberty won the third period, 24-14. Wilson failed to score a point in the second half. Jackie Young (16 points), Kelsey Plum (15 points) and Gray (15 points) were the only Aces to score in double figures.
And in the fourth, it was more domination by the Liberty. They won that period too, 26-15. The four three-pointers to close the night out was enough to put the game out of reach and begin the celebrations for the away team.
Sabrina Ionescu connected on one of those three-pointers as she finished with 12 points and eight boards. Courtney Vandersloot finished with 11 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Kayla Thornton came off the bench to hit a pair of three-pointers and finished with eight points.
The offensive contributions were enough to carry Breanna Stewart, who missed 12 of her 16 shots while finishing with 13 points.
But it was enough to hand the Aces their first home loss of the season, though, it won’t count on the overall standings since it was a Cup game and not a regular season matchup. The two teams will resume regular season action against each other on Thursday in Las Vegas.
