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WNBA New York Liberty

Postgame Notes: Liberty 79, Aces 67

August 17, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release


LIBERTY 79 | ACES 67

(23-4) (16-9)

August 17, 2024

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINAL

ACES 28 8 15 16 67

LIBERTY 24 18 17 20 79

GAME LEADERS NEW YORK LAS VEGAS

POINTS Ionescu (23) Wilson (24)

REBOUNDS Jones (17) Wilson (11)

ASSISTS Jones (7) Gray (6)

TEAM NOTABLES

On Saturday, the New York Liberty (23-4) defeated the Las Vegas Aces (16-9), 79-67.

With the win, the Liberty clinched the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, becoming the first team to do so in 2024, and also secured the head-to-head tiebreaker against Las Vegas.

At 23-4, the 2024 Liberty are off to the team's best start through 27 games in franchise history.

New York held the Aces to eight points in the second quarter for Las Vegas's first single-digit scoring quarter of the season. Each of the last three single-digit scoring quarters by the Aces came against the Liberty's defense, with the previous two occurrences coming in the third and fourth quarters of Vegas's matchup with New York on August 8, 2023.

The Liberty erased an 11-point deficit with a 20-2 run and held Las Vegas to 6% (1-16) shooting from the field with three turnovers over an eight minute stretch in the first half to take a six-point lead at halftime.

New York set new season highs with 46 total rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds against Las Vegas, which marked the second-most total rebounds against the Aces in 2024 and tied for the second-highest offensive rebounding output by an Aces opponent this season.

New York's bench scored 12 points for the team's fifth consecutive game with double-digit bench points, moving the team to 8-0 in games where the Liberty's bench outscores the opponent's reserves.

Up Next: The Liberty will face the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, August 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Barclays Center.

KEY RUNS

Q1: New York went on a 13-0 run from the 1:00 mark of the first to the 8:27 mark of the second quarter.

Q2: New York went on a 7-0 run from the 5:38 mark of the second to the 3:38 mark of the second quarter.

Q3: New York went on an 8-0 run from the 1:48 mark of the third to the 9:19 mark of the fourth quarter.

Q4: New York went on an 8-0 run from the 5:54 mark of the fourth to the 4:46 mark of the final frame.

PLAYER NOTABLES

Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty offense with 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal against Las Vegas. The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month for July also made three three-pointers to extend her streak of regular-season games with at least one made three-pointer to 52, which is the third-longest such streak in WNBA history. Ionescu led all scorers with 12 points in the opening quarter for her league-high eighth double-digit scoring performance in the first quarter this season.

Sabrina has also scored at least 10 points in all 27 games so far in 2024, which leads the WNBA in 2024. This marked her 22nd performance of at least 15 points so far this season, setting her new career-high for most games scoring at least 15 points in a single season.

Jonquel Jones finished with a double-double of 10 points and 17 rebounds, tying for her best rebounding performance in a Liberty uniform. The Liberty moved to 20-0 in games where Jones recorded a double-double during her Liberty tenure, according to Across the Timeline. Jonquel's seven offensive rebounds marked her most since joining the Liberty, and she also tied her career high for rebounds in a single quarter with eight in the second period.

Jones added seven assists against the Aces to join Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, and Alyssa Thomas as the only players in WNBA history to record at least 10 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists in a single regular-season game. Jonquel has recorded multiple assists in 13 consecutive games, which is the longest streak of her career, and at least three assists in six consecutive games, which is the second-longest active streak among frontcourt players.

With her layup at 1:43 of the second quarter, Jones reached 1,000 career two-point field goals made. Jonquel joined Tamika Catchings, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, and Tina Thompson as the only players in WNBA history to record at least 1,000 two-point field-goals made, 250 three-pointers made, 450 assists, and 250 blocks. Jones (263 games) and Stewart (238 games) are the only two players to reach these marks in under 300 games.

Breanna Stewart recorded 18 points, seven rebounds and two steals against the Aces. With her layup at 5:38 of the second quarter, Breanna reached 5,120 career points and passed Swin Cash for 23rd on the WNBA's all-time scoring list. Stewart also knocked down two free throws in the second quarter to move into the league's top-20 all-time for career free throws made. She added a block at 5:35 of the fourth quarter to move into 17th in all-time career blocks (371) and ninth in total blocks throughout Liberty franchise history (99).

Leonie Fiebich scored 12 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Fiebich has recorded at least five rebounds with multiple assists, a steal, and at least one three-pointer made in three games so far this season, which is the second-most among rookies behind Caitlin Clark. Fiebich also joined Clark as the only 2024 rookies to record at least seven rebounds and a steal with multiple three-pointers while shooting at least 50% from the field in a single game. Fiebich has recorded a plus-minus of +10 or better and at least one steal or block in five consecutive games, tying the longest such streak by a first-year player in WNBA history.

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