{"id":4617,"date":"2026-07-01T06:04:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T06:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4617"},"modified":"2026-07-01T06:04:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T06:04:53","slug":"new-york-liberty-beat-the-las-vegas-aces-93-85-to-win-the-commissioners-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4617","title":{"rendered":"New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 to win the Commissioner\u2019s Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionsecu wouldn\u2019t let the New York Liberty come away without the Commissioner\u2019s Cup championship in front of their home crowd.<\/p>\n

Read more Ecuador\u2019s Hincapi\u00e9 becomes the second player sent off for covering his mouth at the World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

Ionescu scored 26 points \u2014 her best offensive effort of the season \u2014 and Stewart added 25 points and 11 rebounds to help the Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85, winning the in-season tournament Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo win our second one, it\u2019s special to do it in Barclays with our fans,\u201d said Stewart, who earned MVP honors of the game.<\/p>\n

New York became the first team to win the tournament twice, also beating the Aces in Las Vegas in 2023. <\/p>\n

Ionescu has been recovering from a back issue that sidelined her for a bit after an ankle injury took her out for the start of the season. She has stayed patient and confident that she would eventually get back to her All-Star form.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always continued to have that belief in myself since I know the work I put in,\u201d Ionescu said. \u201c(An) injury or two isn\u2019t going to diminish who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fans chanted her name as the team accepted the championship trophy from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas was missing four-time MVP A\u2019ja Wilson, who tweaked her right ankle on Sunday in a win over Chicago. The Aces gave the Liberty all they could handle thanks to the stellar play of Jackie Young, who scored 25 of her 31 points in the second half. <\/p>\n

\u201cDo what I can to help our team win. Unfortunately we fell short tonight,\u201d Young said. <\/p>\n

Read more Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras tossed for a 2nd straight game as benches clear against Nationals<\/a><\/p>\n

The Aces led 71-69 early in the fourth quarter before New York went on a 15-2 run to take back control. Pauline Astier got the run started with a 3-pointer with 7:08 left and the Liberty were off and running. <\/p>\n

Ionescu\u2019s 3-pointer capped the burst and made it 84-73 with 3:39 left. Las Vegas wasn\u2019t done, getting within 86-82 on Young\u2019s 3 with 2:26 left. She had a chance to get the Aces within three with 37 seconds remaining, but missed a contested layup. Ionescu then hit a 3-pointer on the other end to seal the victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought she played phenomenal,\u201d Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Young. \u201cThat shot wasn\u2019t what won or lost the game. She\u2019s a perfectionist, demands a lot out of herself. Needs to give herself a little more grace.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Aces got a scare 90 seconds into the game when Chelsea Gray went down after getting hit in the nose. The All-Star guard was down for a few minutes before she went back to the locker room with a towel draped over her head. She returned a few minutes later.<\/p>\n

Gray deadpanned after the game when asked about her nose that it was \u201cattached.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ionescu had a stellar first half, scoring 17 points as the Liberty built 51-37 lead at the break. The 51 points were the most ever in the first half of a Commissioner\u2019s Cup championship game. The Liberty led 58-43 in the third quarter before Young got hot. She had 10 points over the final 6 1\/2 minutes of the period, including a three-point play with 24 seconds left that made it 65-62.<\/p>\n

Young and the Aces continued the run to start the fourth and took a 71-69 lead early in the period. It didn\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n

This was the fourth time that Stewart played for the Commissioner\u2019s Cup title. She won the inaugural one with Seattle in 2021 and then again with New York two years later. The Liberty lost to Minnesota in 2024. Barclays Center wasn\u2019t available that night, so the game was played in the UBS Arena, about 20 miles from the Liberty\u2019s normal home.<\/p>\n

The game brought out the stars, with Spike Lee attending the contest as well as minority Aces owner Tom Brady.<\/p>\n

Read more As Durham water supply continues to drop, a $850M project aims to protect against droughts<\/a><\/p>\n

Up next<\/h3>\n

Aces: Host the Chicago Sky on Friday. <\/p>\n

Liberty: Host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP WNBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/wnba-basketball<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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