New York Liberty defeat Las Vegas Aces, 92-78, on ring night

The New York Liberty got their 2024 WNBA Championship rings, then went out and beat their biggest rival, led by their biggest offseason acquisition.

Barclays Center did not need much coaxing to get loud on Saturday afternoon.

If a season opener against the dreaded Las Vegas Aces wasn’t enough (it was), the New York Liberty commemorated their 2024 championship before the game, raising the banner and handing out rings.

The ceremony took all of 20 minutes, starting with a video presentation narrated by franchise legend Sue Wicks and ending with Sabrina Ionescu addressing the crowd directly: “We’re so thankful, thank you for being a part of this journey with us. But we gotta run it back.”

And with that, the Liberty closed the door on their championship season, turning their full focus to a repeat for which they’re well-equipped. It won’t be easy, not with the departure of Kayla Thornton and absence of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, but they had their full complement of players on Saturday.

Leonie Fiebich, just having flown back from winning a Spanish League title, started after a game-time decision (jet lag) went her way. Though she scored just two points, her length and activity on LV’s stable of ball-handlers was huge.

For all the talk about New York’s new, 5-out style offense in training camp, it looked pretty damn good to start the season — and not much different than last year. The team couldn’t buy an outside shot, finishing just __% from three, but scored a million (56) points in the paint with 21 free-throw attempts, taking advantage of their size and pace…

New York’s other big advantage over the Las Vegas Aces showed up in the first half too: their depth. Nyara Sabally and Kennedy Burke came off the bench to play bully ball inside and hit a couple threes, respectively, to separate the Liberty in a 28-13 second quarter.

First impressions were flying. The Liberty seemed unbeatable and the Aces a cooked product. No Ace besides the incomparable A’ja Wilson, she of the 31-and-16 double-double, could do anything on offense, as the team started 3-of-14 from deep.

Then they made five of their next six long-balls, with Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray heating up, and the sky was no longer falling. The Aces cut it to five midway through the third quarter, where it would remain until the start of the fourth quarter. A night of celebration was getting sweaty.

Natasha Cloud, newcomer, saved the day, and threw any worries about a new starting lineup out the window. She started 1-of-5 with a turnover, but was living in the paint, and that turned out to be the strongest indicator of success.

After the Aces cut it to a single possession, Cloud scored back-to-back and-1s, blowing the roof off of Barclays Center…

Said Cloud: “I came into the next huddle, and Stewie was like, ‘how do you like this crowd?’ I was like ‘I thought they had called a charge the way everybody started screaming.’”

After the screaming, the crowd gave Cloud a standing ovation, who did not just put up a 22/6/9/3/2 stat-line that only three other players have ever matched. She also spent half the game earning bumps and bruises diving on the floor, or meeting A’ja Wilson with an elbow whenever Wilson cut through the lane. Cloud was a fan-favorite among the seafoam faithful even before she played here, and that is unlikely to change now.

“I think the similarities of Philly [her hometown] and New York, is we really just appreciate players that come in, play hard, and they give them everything they got every single night. And we’re gritty, we get it out the mud. That’s just what it is, and I think that’s how I play,” said Cloud.

She may have been the game’s star, but only because the Liberty are used to one of the greatest front-courts of all time. Breanna Stewart put up the quietest 25/8/3 line imaginable, shooting a hyper-efficient 10-of-14 from the floor, while Jonquel Jones was only elevated by the new offense, not hidden, posting 17/10/6 while frequently matched up with Wilson…

Despite a poor Sabrina Ionescu game, the Aces either didn’t have enough firepower to close the gap or the right usage of it. Their offense, in contrast with the Liberty, was stagnant for much of the second half, with Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Jewell Loyd combining to shoot 11-of-forty-freaking-two from the field. They missed some open ones, but shot very few of them.

Jonquel Jones put the exclamation point on the win, stuffing Wilson in isolation. Not even a three-time MVP could single-handedly take down the Liberty on ring night…

“It was great. You know, there’s some imperfect situations, but that’s part of it .. I thought we played a really good game, and it’s something that we’ll continue to build on over these next weeks.” — Sandy Brondello

Final Score: New York Liberty 92, Las Vegas Aces 78

• Boxscore: New York Liberty 92, Las Vegas Aces 78 – WNBA