Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones led the way not just with their offense, but with outstanding defense that was badly missed in the series' first two games.
NEW YORK — After getting run over by the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces in the first two games of the WNBA Finals, the New York Liberty staved off a sweep Sunday afternoon in the best way they could.The most important side of the 87-73 final score was undoubtedly the second one. New York’s defense was uncharacteristically poor in Games 1 and 2, losses by 99-82 and a whopping 104-76. This time, the Liberty were locked in, holding the Aces to 33.3% field goal shooting and landing eight blocks.
Jones finished with a team-high 27 point, including four three-pointers, plus eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and three steals. Stewart tallied 20 points with 12 boards, four assists, and two blocks. It was the Liberty’s biggest attendance since 2017, the team’s last year at Madison Square Garden before being forced to the suburbs. From “MVP!” chants for Stewart to the classic “DE-FENSE!” early and often, this was a proper Big Apple show.
“Even people who know just that I have an association with the WNBA will bring up the Liberty to me,” he said, from friends and family to a travel agent who recognized his name. “It definitely has been a potent thread through the New York sports fabric that people have wanted to hang on to throughout this postseason run.”Ruocco also spoke for his WNBA broadcast partner, Rebecca Lobo, who played for the Liberty when the team was big-time in the WNBA’s early years.
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