Las Vegas Aces become back-to-back Champs on failed buzzer-beater

Aces make history as back-to-back WNBA champions. 

The Las Vegas Aces take the WNBA Finals series 3-1 after beating the New York Liberty in a comeback victory 70-69. The Aces become the first WNBA team to become back-to-back champions since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002, and only one other team has done it before then. This is the Aces second consecutive championship under coach and former WNBA player Becky Hammon.

Game four was one for the ages after a long anticipated matchup between superteams converged. Everyone familiar with the WNBA predicted this finals matchup. The Aces have built up their superteam for years, carefully obtaining just the right pieces and crafting a perfect well-oiled machine. The Liberty, however, were born this offseason in a free agency frenzy as a response to the Aces almost inevitable repeat.The Liberty acquired 2023 MVP Breann Stewart from the Seattle Storm and 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones from the Connecticut Sun. The New York powerhouse was created to stop the Aces, and in the regular season they did just that, beating the Aces three times, including in the Commissioner’s Cup. The Aces did manage to beat the Liberty twice in the regular season, but were forced to reconfigure their starting lineup when star player Candace Parker went out with a left foot fracture. To add to their starting lineup problems the Aces 2022 Finals MVP point guard, Chelsea Gray, went down in game three of the Finals series with a left foot injury. To add insult to injur(ies), Aces center Kiah Stokes was also out, dealing with a right foot injury. Going into game four there were serious doubts about the Aces’ extremely thin roster without two starters. The starting five looked extremely different from the beginning of the season, starting A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Alysha Clark, and Cayla George.

Each team managed to put up points until there was 8.8 seconds remaining and the Liberty were down by one, 70-69. Coming out of a timeout the Liberty attempted to run a play for Stewart who was heavily guarded by Alysha Clark. Stewart was forced to kick the ball which ended up in Courtney Vandersloot’s hands deep in the corner. Vandersloot could do nothing by jack up an off-balance three without a prayer. The Aces were down by as much as 12, but their pure team chemistry propelled them to their second consecutive ring. 

Their team, despite facing adversity this season, stayed strong throughout the playoffs, especially in game four. Their faith in each other as teammates has grown over the seasons and shows in their stats. Four Aces players scored double digits. Wilson, who earned Finals MVP had 24 points and 16 rebounds. Young added 16 points and seven assists, Clark stepped up with 10 points and eight rebounds, and George contributed 11 points. Wilson though has been a true phenomenon, rightfully earning finals MVP along with becoming the first player to have three consecutive 30-point games in the playoffs, and the third player  35-point, 15-rebound game in the playoffs in game two against Chicago. 

Despite the loss, the Liberty maintained a lead for the majority of the game. Courtney Vandersloot, who has disappeared this series, came out with a vengeance scoring 19 points, with seven rebounds and six assists. Besides Vandersloot, the rest of the Liberty underperformed. 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart shot just 3-of-17 from the field for 10 points. Sabrina Iionescu had 13 points and 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones had just six. 

If these two teams look similar next season WNBA fans can look forward to a finals rematch as no one in the league can truly compete with these powerhouses. These teams combined have three WNBA MVPs and five former first overall draft picks. The Liberty must shoot better and work on chemistry if they want a chance to beat a fully healthy Aces in 2024.

Grace Bishop