Jewell Loyd scored 21 points and A’ja Wilson added 17 points and 16 rebounds as the Las Vegas Aces extended their season-best winning streak to five games with an 83-77 victory over the visiting New York Liberty on Wednesday.
Jackie Young put up 15 points and Chelsea Gray had 13 points and five assists as the Aces (19-14) won a matchup of teams that have combined to win the last three WNBA championships.
Las Vegas ended its six-game regular-season losing streak against New York. The Liberty also won the teams’ semifinal series last year three games to one.
New York’s Emma Meesseman matched her season high by logging 24 points for the second game in a row, and she added 10 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu scored 18 points for the Liberty (21-12), who lost to the first-place Minnesota Lynx and the fifth-place Aces in the past three games.
Jonquel Jones scored 11 points for New York, which is 1-1 on a three-game road trip that ends Saturday at Minnesota.
With the game tied 72-72 and 4:19 remaining, the Aces went on an 8-2 run that included four free throws from Wilson for an 80-74 advantage with 1:53 left. Ionescu made a 3-pointer to bring New York within 80-77 with 1:42 to go.
The Aces, up by four, turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation with 20.8 seconds remaining, but Ionescu missed a 3-point attempt and Young sealed the victory with two free throws.
Playing on a second consecutive day for just the second time this season, the Liberty got off to a fast start by shooting 58.8 percent from the floor in the opening quarter while taking a 24-20 lead.
The Aces led by as many as four points in the second quarter before the Liberty regained the advantage and took a 43-40 lead into halftime behind 12 points and six rebounds from Meesseman. Young had just three points for Las Vegas at the break.
After missing eight games with a right calf strain, New York’s Kennedy Burke returned to score eight points in 16 minutes. Breanna Stewart missed her ninth consecutive game for the Liberty with a right knee injury.
–Field Level Media
