UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The WNBA Finals matchup that has been talked about since the offseason will finally happen: the New York Liberty vs. the Las Vegas Aces.
The matchup was set after the Liberty took down the Sun, 87-84, at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday in Game 4 of the semifinals series.
It’ll be the first time since 2002 that the Liberty will appear in the WNBA Finals. Moments after the game, Breanna Stewart spoke about what it means to give one of the WNBA’s original franchises another shot at the title. The franchise has four WNBA finals appearances, but have come up short each time.
“I’ve processed it in the fact that we’re going to the finals because we’re going after a championship,” Stewart said. “But the fact that the Liberty haven’t been to a final since 2002 is wild. And to be able to have that and know we have the entire city behind us is something that’s really really special.”
The Sun didn’t go down without a fight, as head coach Sandy Brondello predicted pregame. Game 4 also included all the theatrics for a Sun team fighting for its playoff life.
With nine minutes remaining in regulation and the Sun down eight, MVP runner-up Alyssa Thomas headed into the locker room after taking a hard hit from Jonquel Jones. The Sun quickly cut the lead to two within the next minute as Thomas walked back onto the floor.
Her return caused the Mohegan Sun Arena crowd to erupt. It erupted again with five minutes remaining after DiJonai Carrington banked in a three-pointer to tie the game.
Later on, DeWanna Bonner’s three-pointer put the Sun up one but Jones followed up with a trey of her own to put the Libs in the lead.
The two teams traded buckets, but Jones came up with a huge play in the final minute.
Jones intercepted an inbound pass and raced down the floor with Thomas. Jones drew a shooting foul and drained two free throws. The makes put her team up five with 42 seconds remaining and put the Sun in too deep of a hole to come back from.
Jones said postgame that she anticipated Thomas to “pop out and try to get the ball” on Tiffany Hayes’ inbounds pass. The 6-6 center intercepted the pass steps near the free line before arriving at the other basket.
“I felt like I was in a really good position to make the play and I just went and did it,” Jones said.
Sabrina Ionescu added: “To see a [center] be able to do that at her height and get a steal and push the break in transition was the cherry on top.”
“And that’s when I knew we were gonna win the game,” noted Ionescu, who finished with nine points, seven assists and five rebounds.
The momentum swing made Connecticut’s comeback attempt even harder and didn’t allow Thomas to create a clutch play that could’ve tied the game. Thomas was only able to muster two points in the final period, but she grabbed three boards and dished three assists in the fourth. She finished Game 4 with a triple double after recording 17 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists.
Jones dominated and took advantage of a team that had no answer for her in the series. She finished with 25 points and 15 boards. The star center looked like her 2021 MVP self when she was a member of the Sun. She went to the free throw line 12 times and knocked down nine attempts.
A trey by Sun guard Tyasha Harris with seven seconds remaining got her team within one, but Breanna Stewart’s made free throws extended the deficit to three. The Sun failed to get three points in the final seconds and entered an early offseason.
“Relief,” Brondello said when asked what was going through her mind when Harris’ shot bounced off the rim.
A third-quarter run — the theme of this semifinals series — gave the Libs some cushion room before they battled to the end. Betnijah Laney drained a three to complete a 7-0 run that put her team up eight with 7:09 left in the third. The two teams traded buckets for the rest of the quarter. The Sun failed to close the gap and went up eight to end the third. Jones was perfect in the quarter, going 3-for-3 with nine points against an undersized Bonner.
Jones was the focal point of the second half after being unable to fully take advantage of mismatches in the first half. The fans that once cheered for her now had to watch her dominate down low in another uniform.
The Libs’ inability to convert on favorable matchups led them to go down four at the end of the first. Laney kept them in it with nine early points. She finished with 21 points, seven boards and five assists.
Rebecca Allen was back in the starting lineup after missing Game 3 with a non-COVID illness. Her addition to Stephnanie White’s rotation injected life into a Sun’s defense that was lackluster in Game 3.
On Sunday, the Sun defended screens like they did in Game 1. They disrupted offense by hedging on Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu. The pressured forced turnovers, including a Thomas steal that led to a three-pointer by Tiffany Hayes. The basket put the Sun up 10, but the 2023 MVP came roaring back.
Stewart, who finished with 27 points and nine rebounds, went on a 7-0 run by herself in about a minute. The quick spurt prompted MVP chants in the away arena with runner-up Thomas heading to the sidelines after a called timeout.
The Liberty bussed over 100 fans to Mohegan Sun Arena, according to The Next’s Jackie Powell. Their presence was heard from pregame warmups to the final buzzer. Many of them were seated directly behind the Liberty’s bench. The extra support didn’t go unnoticed by the road team.
“It’s so nice to look up and see so many New York Liberty shirts and jerseys,” Ionescu said. [The Sun] went on their run and our fans were still cheering for us and by our side.”
The Liberty led by one at halftime after winning the last five minutes of the second, 15-11.
Hayes limped off the floor before halftime with what appeared to be a lower-body injury. The guard later returned in the third. She fell to the ground after getting her shot blocked by Jones. It was one of Jones’ three blocks in the first two periods to go with five points and seven rebounds. The star center finished with four blocks Sunday.
Game 1 of the WNBA Finals will begin on Oct. 8 in Las Vegas.