As the saying goes, winning a championship is hard, but defending it is harder. The Las Vegas Aces are on the brink of elimination after the New York Liberty won Game 2 of their semifinal series in the WNBA Playoffs, going up 2-0 on the defending champions. After Breanna Stewart poured in 34 points to take Game 1, Sabrina Ionescu picked up the scoring load for 24 points to fend off a late Aces rally. Despite facing a possible Liberty sweep, Aces coach Becky Hammon remained defiant.
“We have neither lost or won a championship. Nothing has been won tonight,” the coach said, via a post from ESPN’s Alexa Philippou on X, formerly Twitter. “Let there be no doubt, we’re in for a war.”
Can the Aces fend off the broom?
After their Game 2 loss, the Aces need to prepare for war if they want to stop the Liberty from sweeping them. Three-time MVP A’ja Wilson‘s valiant effort of 24 points and seven rebounds on 11 for 18 shooting wasn’t enough to overcome the Aces’ defensive issues, which gave their opponents the momentum for most of the game.
Likewise, these defensive issues nagged Becky Hammon throughout the game, as her team gave the Liberty open layup after open layup. Moreover, defense was only one of their problems…