Sabrina Ionescu scores 22 points to lead Liberty to victory over the Aces and into the WNBA Finals

Sabrina Ionescu rebounded from a rare off-game to score 22 points, and nearly a year after the Aces ended the Liberty's championship dream, New York got revenge with a 76-62 win over Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon moved into the WNBA finals.

The top-seeded Liberty has home-field advantage in the championship series and will face either the Connecticut Sun or Minnesota Lynx. This will be the Liberty's sixth appearance in the Finals, but the franchise is still searching for its first title.

New York lost in four games to the undermanned Aces on October 18, 2023, turning the painful defeat into a mission. The Liberty were the best team in the league this season, going 6-1, including the playoffs, against Las Vegas.

The Aces, whose record-setting 12-game playoff winning streak ended at home, were hoping to make more WNBA history. They became the first team to win two straight championships since the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2001–2002 season and were attempting to become the first club to win three straight championships since the Houston Comets won four in 1997–2000 episode won.

In addition to Ionescu, Breanna Stewart totaled 19 points and 14 rebounds, Jonquel Jones scored 14 points despite dealing with foul trouble for most of the game, and Leonie Fiebich finished the game with 11 points.

For Las Vegas, A'ja Wilson had 19 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots, Kelsey Plum scored 17 points and Tiffany Hayes had 11 points.

Ionescu showed almost immediately that this wouldn't be a repeat of Game 3 for them. She was averaging 24.5 points in the playoffs entering this game, but was limited to four points on 1-of-7 shooting Friday night. She didn't score until the fourth quarter.

This time, Ionescu needed just 3:04 to get on the scoreboard when she hit a three-pointer. She finished the first quarter with 12 points, making all four shots, including three 3s.

The Liberty led by just two points at the start of the fourth quarter, but outscored Las Vegas 23-11 in the final period to pull away.

Aces center Kiah Stokes missed her second straight game due to a concussion late in Game 2.