Stewart, Ionescu lead Liberty to Game 1 win over Aces in WNBA semifinals

Breanna Stewart scored 34 points and Sabrina Ionescu had 21 to help the New York Liberty beat the visiting Las Vegas Aces 87-77 on Sunday in Game 1 of their semifinals series.

Jonquel Jones added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Liberty. Game 2 of the best-of-5 matchup is Tuesday night in New York.

Kelsey Plum scored 24 points and A'ja Wilson added 21 for the Aces.

This was a rematch of last season's WNBA Finals that the Aces won in four games, including clinching the championship in New York. The Liberty said they've had a scar from that loss and have used it as motivation all season long. New York had the best record in the league and earned the top seed in the playoffs.

Last season the Aces were the No. 1 seed, so New York had to go there for the opening two games of the Finals. The Liberty returned home down 0-2 and never could recover.

New York came out strong behind Stewart and led 28-21 after one quarter. Las Vegas closed to 37-34 with 4:11 left in the half before New York ended the second quarter with a 11-4 run to go up 10 at the break.

Stewart, who had 20 points in the opening 20 minutes, had six points in that spurt. She hit eight of her 10 shots in the first half.

The Liberty scored the first five points of the third quarter and the lead ballooned to 62-44 on a three-pointer by Stewart. After a timeout, the Aces scored the next 12 points to get within six. Courtney Vandersloot finally ended the drought for New York with a layup that sparked a run to restore a nine-point advantage at the end of the third.

In Game 2 of the opening round series win over Atlanta, the basketball superfan gave the Liberty guard a high-five that she said felt like "New York was injected into my veins."

Ninety seconds later, she hit another three that whipped the sellout crowd into a frenzy.

Las Vegas couldn't get closer than eight the rest of the way.

This is the first time in the history of the league that the finals participants from the season before met in the semifinals. The league changed its playoff format in 2016 which allowed that to happen with the top eight teams making the postseason regardless of conference affiliation. Minnesota faced Los Angeles in the 2018 first round after the two teams had played in the WNBA Finals the previous two years.

Sun edge Lynx in Game 1

Marina Mabrey scored 20 points and Alyssa Thomas added 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and the visiting Connecticut Sun defeated the Minnesota Lynx 73-70 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their semifinals series.

DiJonai Carrington had 13 points and DeWanna Bonner had 10 points and 11 boards for the Sun.

Napheesa Collier, who averaged 40 points in the first round of the playoffs, led Minnesota with 19 points and nine rebounds. Canada's Bridget Carleton scored 17 and Kayla McBride added 12.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series will be played Tuesday in Minneapolis.

WATCH l Carleton scores career playoff-high 17 points:

Canada's Bridget Carleton's big night comes up just short for her Minnesota Lynx

3 months ago

Duration 0:57

Post-season career-high in points for Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton, as she dropped 17 points falling just short to the Connecticut Sun 73-70 in game one Sunday.

In their first-round sweep of Phoenix, the Lynx shot 50 per cent from the floor and 40 per cent from the arc, topping 100 points in both games.

It was a different story against the Sun, who had the stingiest defence in the league this season. Minnesota shot just 41.5 per cent from the field and made five of 20 three-point attempts.

Mabrey opened the fourth with her sixth three-pointer of the night, and Carrington scored on a putback to tie the score 62-all with seven minutes to play. Bonner hit a corner three and added a transition layup as the Sun crept ahead by three.

After the Lynx were held without a basket for more than three minutes, Collier's driving layup cut the Sun's lead to 71-70 with 33.9 seconds to go.

However, Thomas hit a 15-foot jumper with 11.7 seconds left and after a disjointed final possession, Collier's desperation three-pointer came up short.

The Lynx trailed by four entering the third quarter, when McBride hit a three-pointer and a long jumper on back-to-back possessions to erase the deficit. Tied at 57 in the final minute of the quarter, Myisha Hines-Allen scored on a baseline drive, then after getting a stop on the other end, Williams drained a three to give Minnesota a 62-57 lead after three quarters.

Connecticut used a 9-0 run late in the first quarter to jump out to a 23-14 lead. Carrington sparked the rally by converting a turnover into a breakaway layup and hitting a corner three the next time down the court.

Minnesota clawed back in the second quarter, as Williams' steal and fast-break assist to McBride sparked a 15-0 spurt that gave the Lynx a 35-29 lead. Carleton hit a pair of threes and Alanna Smith converted a three-point play over that four-minute stretch, which Mabrey snapped with a three from the wing.

Mabrey's bucket triggered a 13-2 run that ended with another Mabrey three as the Sun took a 42-38 lead into the half.

Collier named top defensive player, Reeve best coach

Napheesa Collier was voted the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and Cheryl Reeve earned the Coach of the Year award on Sunday.

Collier won the defensive award for the first time, receiving 36 votes from a 67-person national media panel. A'ja Wilson finished second with 26 votes.

The Lynx star ranked second in the league in steals per game (1.91), She was fourth in defensive rebounds per game (7.5) and seventh in blocks per game (1.41), finishing with career highs in both categories.

Collier led the Lynx to the second-best record in the league (30-10) under the guidance of Reeve, who won the coaching award for a record fourth time. Reeve received 62 of the 67 votes for Coach of the Year. New York's Sandy Brondello had four votes and Indiana's Christie Sides got the one.

Reeve also earned WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year for the second time. Talisa Rhea of the Seattle Storm finished second.

Reeve broke a tie with Van Chancellor of the Houston Comets (1997-99) and Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics (2006, 2008 and 2013), who each won coach of the year three times. Reeve was previously honored in 2011, 2016 and 2020.