NEW YORK (AP) – The Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty met for the title last season. Now they’re making the playoffs a round early, vying for the opportunity to reach the WNBA Finals.
The Libertys stated that they used last season’s defeat as motivation this year, but don’t dwell on the loss in four games.
“We have unfinished business,” New York guard Sabrina Ionescu said. “We’re going to play our best basketball because we have a lot of basketball left in us.”
The Aces were only the fourth seed, but they played much better over the last month, winning nine of ten games heading into the playoffs and sweeping Seattle in the first round.
The only loss during that stretch came against New York, but league MVP A’ja Wilson sat out that contest as she rested her foot. The Aces recovered from a 20-point deficit in this contest to nearly knock out the Liberty.
Neither team gets much out of this match.
This is the first time in the history of the league that the participants of the final meet in the semi-final. This was only possible in 2016, when the league changed its format to place among the top eight teams, regardless of conference affiliation, in the playoffs.
“Obviously the goal is not just to win in the semi-finals, so that’s something that seems a little weird to me because we’re in a rematch of the final series, which is a little unheard of,” Ionescu said. “They’re a team we have to get through to get to a final again.”
Minnesota and Los Angeles played in the 2018 first round after meeting in the finals the year before. The Lynx won the title in 2017 but lost to the Sparks in 2018.
Here are some things to look for in the series:
marquee match
Wilson and Breanna Stewart have been friends off the court for years, playing together with USA Basketball in the Olympics and World Championships. Stewart won MVP last year and Wilson improved her game this season, breaking the single-season record for scoring average and becoming the first player to score more than 1,000 points in a season. Whoever has a more dominant series should help their team progress.
X factors
Liberty players have said all season that they are more connected this year after playing for the first time as a unit last season. New York added rookie Leonie Fiebich to the mix and she was excellent throughout the regular season. The 6-foot-4 wing gives New York more size and shooting. Las Vegas added Tiffany Hayes midway through the season, convincing her to come out of retirement. She earned AP Sixth Woman of the Year honors.
Home advantage
New York earned first place this year and will play the first two games at home in the best-of-five series. Last season in the WNBA Finals, the Liberty had to travel to Las Vegas and returned home facing elimination. New York has had a raucous crowd all season at home and the games have become a go-to venue for some celebrities.
Bonus for grades and attendance
The WNBA had its most-watched regular season since 2000 and recorded the highest attendance in 22 years. The league averaged 9,807 fans, an increase of 48% from last season. The Fever led the way with a single-season record 340,715 fans attending home games. The Sun’s Indiana-Connecticut series-clinching game averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA game ever broadcast on cable. The second game of the doubleheader that saw Minnesota beat Phoenix averaged 1.2 million viewers.
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