September 26, 2024

New York Liberty Sweep Atlanta Dream and Set Sights on Las Vegas

By Nikki Gist

On Tuesday night, the New York Liberty faced off with Atlanta in Game 2 of the best-of-three series at Barclays Center with one goal in mind; sweep the Dream and move on to the semi-finals.

New York trailed Atlanta for a majority of the first half, but with outstanding play from Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, the Liberty was able to start pulling away in the second half and come back from a double-digit deficit. 

Ionescu lead the offense with 36 points, nine assists and three steals. New York recorded at least 15 assists for the 126th consecutive game, the longest streak in WNBA history by more than 50 games. 

The Liberty will now turn their focus to the semifinals where they will take on the two-time defending champions Las Vegas Aces. Game 1 kicks off Sunday in Brooklyn, and with two former league MVPs in A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart playing in this series, this matchup should be as good as advertised. 

Las Vegas struggled a bit over the summer but has since turned things around, finishing the regular season winning nine of their past ten games while New York holds the league’s best regular season record at 32-8. The Liberty swept the Aces 3-0 in their last series, however Las Vegas was not at full strength with their key players. 

The Liberty and Aces series is a true Superteam Showdown with Wilson and Stewart battling in a game of will and defensive matchup with Jackie Young and Sabrina Ionescu. The series will come down to edge and which team is playing with a bigger chip on their shoulder. 

The semifinals are a best-of-five series. Game one will take place at Barclays Center on Sunday, September 29 at 3PM. The game will be televised on ABC.