This week, the New York Liberty defeated the Las Vegas Aces by a score of 82-63, en route to the franchise's first-ever Commissioner’s Cup Championship victory.
It was the Liberty's first appearance in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship, which is the final game of the annual WNBA Commissioner's Cup, an in-season competition where teams compete for prize pools and for charity.
The Liberty and the Aces earned the opportunity to face off in the championship final after finishing as the top seeds in their respective conferences thus far in the regular season.
After trailing 34-32 at halftime, the Liberty had a massive third quarter on the defensive end, only allowing nine points and taking the lead heading into the fourth quarter. During the final quarter, the New York squad had an offensive explosion, pouring in 26 points as a team and never looking back as they would end up beating a juggernaut Aces team in blowout fashion.
Five Liberty players scored in double digits, with bench guard Marine Johannès leading the way with a game-high 17 points on 6-8 shooting (including 5-7 from three-point range).
In her second-career Commissioner’s Cup Championship appearance, Jonquel Jones scored 16 points, grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds (seven of which came on the offensive glass), and also added two blocks. The dominant all-around performance led to the Liberty forward being named game MVP.
Breanna Stewart, who won Commissioner’s Cup MVP back in 2021, finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks of her own.
Sabrina Ionescu started the game off slow on the scoring end (only putting up three points in the first three quarters), but finished up strong by erupting with nine of her 12 points in the final quarter. The all-star guard also contributed eight rebounds and two assists in the winning effort.
Also making her second career appearance in the championship match was Courtney Vandersloot, who made Commissioner's Cup final history by being the first player to have a point-assist double-double in the annual game, putting up 11 points and dishing out 10 assists.
Up next, the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces will square off once again in a rematch on Aug. 17.
