Liberty beat Aces to win 2nd WNBA Commissioner's Cup title - ESPN

NEW YORK — Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu wouldn't let the New York Liberty come away without the Commissioner's Cup championship in front of their home crowd.

Ionescu scored 26 points — her best offensive effort of the season — and Stewart added 25 points and 11 rebounds to help the Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85, winning the in-season tournament Tuesday night.

«To win our second one, it's special to do it in Barclays with our fans,» said Stewart, who earned MVP honors of the game.

New York became the first team to win the tournament twice, also beating the Aces in Las Vegas in 2023.

Ionescu has been recovering from a back issue that sidelined her for a bit after an ankle injury took her out for the start of the season. She has stayed patient and confident that she would eventually get back to her All-Star form.

«I always continued to have that belief in myself since I know the work I put in,» Ionescu said. "(An) injury or two isn't going to diminish who I am."

The fans chanted her name as the team accepted the championship trophy from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Las Vegas was missing four-time MVP A'ja Wilson, who tweaked her right ankle on Sunday in a win over Chicago. The Aces gave the Liberty all they could handle thanks to the stellar play of Jackie Young, who scored 25 of her 31 points in the second half.

«Do what I can to help our team win. Unfortunately we fell short tonight,» Young said.

The Aces led 71-69 early in the fourth quarter before New York went on a 15-2 run to take back control. Pauline Astier got the run started with a 3-pointer with 7:08 left and the Liberty were off and running.

Ionescu's 3-pointer capped the burst and made it 84-73 with 3:39 left. Las Vegas wasn't done, getting