Current:Home > MarketsLas Vegas Aces, New York Liberty advance, will meet in semifinals of 2024 WNBA playoffs -Aspire Money Growth
Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty advance, will meet in semifinals of 2024 WNBA playoffs
View
Date:2025-04-20 06:13:18
Kelsey Plum matched her career playoff high with 29 points Tuesday night while WNBA Most Valuable Player A'ja Wilson added a double-double as the fourth-seeded Las Vegas Aces eliminated the visiting Seattle Storm, 83-76, for a two-game quarterfinal sweep.
The two-time defending league champion Aces will start a best-of-five semifinal series Sunday on the road against the top-seeded New York Liberty. Las Vegas lost all three games in the season series but looked more like its championship self down the stretch, going 9-1 to end the regular season.
Plum hit 11 of 15 shots from the field, while Wilson added 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as the Aces dominated the glass 45-30. Las Vegas' Chelsea Gray contributed 12 points and nine assists.
Gabby Williams scored 20 points to lead fifth-seeded Seattle, while Nneka Ogwumike added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ezi Magbegor returned from missing the previous four games with a concussion and tallied 14 points. Skylar Diggins-Smith chipped in 13 points and 10 assists.
The Storm took their only lead of the night with 7:58 left in the game on a putback by Mercedes Russell, but Las Vegas quickly regained control with seven straight points. Jackie Young scored in transition for a 71-65 advantage with 6:05 remaining, and the Aces stayed in front from there.
Las Vegas got off to a strong start in its bid to eliminate Seattle, with Plum and Wilson each putting up 12 points in the first quarter. The Aces led 23-7 less than five minutes into the game before settling for a 30-20 advantage going to the second quarter.
Seattle controlled most of the second period, edging within 39-38 on Magbegor's layup at the 2:21 mark. However, the Aces rallied for the last six points of the half, Wilson canning two foul shots with 2.8 seconds left to make it 45-38 at the break.
The Storm tied the game twice in the first four minutes of the third quarter, but Las Vegas fought back for a 57-51 lead on Wilson's layup with 3:05 remaining. Plum's floater with 6.8 seconds on the clock gave the Aces a 62-57 edge going to the fourth period.
Sabrina Ionescu scores 36 as New York Liberty sweep Atlanta Dream
Sabrina Ionescu poured in a playoff-career-high 36 points, Jonquel Jones had a double-double and the New York Liberty completed a 2-0 first-round sweep of the Atlanta Dream with a 91-82 home win on Tuesday.
The top-seeded Liberty, who beat the eighth-seeded Dream, 83-69, on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-three series, advanced to the semifinals for the second straight season.
New York will face the fourth-seeded Las Vegas Aces in the best-of-five semifinal series.
Ionescu shot 12-for-23 from the floor, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range, and added nine assists. She put the Liberty ahead for good with a 3-pointer that made it 70-67 with 7:17 left in the fourth quarter.
Jones scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. Breanna Stewart added 13 points and Leonie Fiebich had nine for New York.
Allisha Gray put up 26 points to lead Atlanta, which was swept out of the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season. Rhyne Howard had 19 points, Tina Charles added 14 and Naz Hillmon paired six points with 10 rebounds.
The Dream pulled even at 67 on Nia Coffey's 3-pointer with 9:01 to go and trailed 73-72 after Gray's fifth trey with 6:03 to play. The Liberty took over from there, rattling off a 12-2 run to put the game out of reach.
New York went up 82-74 on Fiebich's three-point play before Fiebich's 3-pointer made it 85-74 with 3:37 left. The Liberty maintained at least a seven-point lead the rest of the way.
New York made eight more free throws than Atlanta and had an 18-11 edge in points off turnovers.
The Dream led 28-19 after a perfect first quarter from Gray, who scored 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including four 3-pointers. She went scoreless in the second as the Liberty used a 21-8 run to go up 40-36 midway through the quarter. Atlanta responded with a 12-3 surge to enter halftime leading 48-43 after Charles' 3-pointer with three seconds left.
The Dream went ahead 55-47 on Howard's 3-pointer before New York charged ahead 63-59 with 1:52 left in the third quarter. Ionescu delivered 11 points in the third for the Liberty, while Gray ended her drought with a late flurry to pull Atlanta within 65-64 entering the fourth.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Pretty Little Liars' Lindsey Shaw Details Getting Fired Amid Battle With Drugs and Weight
- Inside the Legendary Style of Grease, Including Olivia Newton-John's Favorite Look
- Warming Trends: A Comedy With Solar Themes, a Greener Cryptocurrency and the Underestimated Climate Supermajority
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Clean-Water Plea Suggests New Pennsylvania Governor Won’t Tolerate Violations by Energy Companies, Advocates Say
- Taylor Swift's Star-Studded Fourth of July Party Proves She’s Having Anything But a Cruel Summer
- Q&A: How White Flight and Environmental Injustice Led to the Jackson, Mississippi Water Crisis
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- This Program is Blazing a Trail for Women in Wildland Firefighting
Ranking
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Inside Clean Energy: Three Charts to Help Make Sense of 2021, a Year Coal Was Up and Solar Was Way Up
- Two Towns in Washington Take Steps Toward Recognizing the Rights of Southern Resident Orcas
- Eva Mendes Shares Rare Insight Into Her and Ryan Gosling's Kids' “Summer of Boredom”
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Save 57% On Sunday Riley Beauty Products and Get Glowing Skin
- Chernobyl Is Not the Only Nuclear Threat Russia’s Invasion Has Sparked in Ukraine
- Supreme Court sides with Jack Daniel's in trademark dispute with dog toy maker
Recommendation
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
You Won't Be Able to Handle Penelope Disick's Cutest Pics
Inside Clean Energy: Explaining the Record-Breaking Offshore Wind Sale
Journalists at Gannett newspapers walk out over deep cuts and low pay
Trump's 'stop
Republicans Are Primed to Take on ‘Woke Capitalism’ in 2023, with Climate Disclosure Rules for Corporations in Their Sights
¿Por qué permiten que las compañías petroleras de California, asolada por la sequía, usen agua dulce?
Get $75 Worth of Smudge-Proof Tarte Cosmetics Eye Makeup for Just $22