The Vegas Aces went to the Michelob ULTRA Arena with the only goal of getting the victory and start in a good way their way to the WNBA championship.
The game started very strong with both teams very evenly matched and fighting hard for every ball, the Liberty were trying to get their first win in these Finals and be able to go home with the advantage in the series. It looked like it would be an easy night for the locals, as they were 6 points behind, however, the great variety of options for the Las Vegas offense allowed Aja Wilson and Jackie Young to score consecutive baskets and reduce the difference to only 3 points in favor of the Liberty at the end of the first period. For the second quarter, the Liberty looked to increase the lead on the scoreboard, but the Aces constantly responded to all the baskets of the visiting team. Marine Johannes kept the New Yorkers on their feet and Alysha Clark added a lot of offensive points to keep Las Vegas close. So we went to the break with a score of 49 to 46 for the visitors.
After the break, the Aces came back more motivated and started to put strong pressure on the New York Aces, the great work of the Las Vegas offense made the difference to double digit points. The Liberty could not find rhythm in the third quarter and it seemed that the hoop was closed and their offensive production did not arrive thanks to the great work of the local defense. The quarter ended with an advantage of 7 for the Aces.
Already in the last period, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray managed to put the game with up to 20 points difference. The Liberty pressure came but the scores of Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones were not enough and the Liberty could not make the comeback and the Aces took the first game of the WNBA Finals by a score of 99 to 82.
The great defense of the Aces was of vital importance to stop Sabrina Ionescu, who only managed to score 1 of 5 three pointers. Aja Wilson's 3 blocks were very important for the locals to get their first win of the series. Las Vegas took advantage of the great connection of Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, Aja Wilson and Jackie Young to finish with more than 15 points and get the victory.
Player of the game
The player of the game was Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assists. Also outstanding was the performance of Breanna Stewart of the Liberty with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists.
With this victory, the Aces take the lead in the WNBA Finals series against the reigning Commissioners Cup champions, the NY Liberty. The second game of the WNBA Finals will be played next Wednesday, October 11 in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. (CDMX). The Liberty will be forced to win the next game in order to extend the series and travel to New York with the series tied and the possibility of defining the Finals at home.
All the information of the WNBA Finals can be followed on VAVEL.