GAME LEADERS	NEW YORK	LAS VEGAS
POINTS	Stewart (34)	Plum (24)
REBOUNDS	Jones (12)	Wilson (6)
ASSISTS	Ionescu (5)	Wilson (5)

TEAM NOTABLES

On Sunday, the New York Liberty (1-0) earned an 87-77 victory over the defending WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces (0-1) to take a 1-0 lead in the 2024 WNBA Semifinals.

Sandy Brondello earned her 34th playoff win as a coach to tie Mike Thibault for the third-most coaching wins in WNBA postseason history.

The Liberty, who averaged a franchise-record 12.5 fast-break points per game during the regular season, outscored Las Vegas 16-6 on fast-break points.

All five of New York’s starters recorded at least one assist within the first six minutes of the opening quarter.

The Liberty defense held Las Vegas to just two offensive rebounds for the team’s fourth consecutive matchup allowing two or fewer offensive rebounds against the Aces, dating back to the first regular-season matchup between these teams in 2024. Prior to this season, New York had only limited Las Vegas to two or fewer offensive rebounds once in the history of the matchup (including both regular and postseason games).

The Liberty recorded at least 15 assists for the 127th consecutive game, including both regular season and postseason games, which is the longest such streak in WNBA history by more than 50 games.

Up Next: The Liberty will face the Las Vegas Aces in Game 2 of the WNBA Semifinals on Tuesday, October 1 at 7:30 PM ET at Barclays Center (Time subject to change).

KEY RUNS

Q1: New York went on a 10-2 run from the 4:31 mark of the first to the 1:45 mark of the first quarter.

Q2: New York went on a 13-3 run from the 4:40 mark of the second to the 0:37 mark of the second quarter.

Q3: Las Vegas went on a 12-0 run from the 5:31 mark of the third to the 2:54 mark of the third quarter.

Q4: New York went on an 8-2 run from the 7:34 mark of the fourth to the 4:08 mark of the final quarter.

PLAYER NOTABLES

Breanna Stewart led the Liberty offense with 34 points, setting her postseason scoring high in a Liberty uniform, on 63% (12-19) shooting from the field, 50% (2-4) shooting from beyond the arc, and 89% (8-9) from the free-throw line. Stewart, who was selected to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team earlier today, added five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the win. This marked Stewart’s 35th consecutive playoff game with at least 10 points, passing Lisa Leslie for the longest such streak in WNBA postseason history. The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month for September also recorded her fourth playoff game of at least 25 points in a Liberty uniform to pass Cappie Pondexter for the most 25-point games in Liberty postseason history.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 21 points on 60% (9-15) shooting from the field and 50% (3-6) shooting from deep, marking the first time in her career that Ionescu recorded consecutive 20-point scoring performances in the playoffs. Ionescu made three three-pointers to extend her streak of playoff games with at least one made three-pointer to 17, which is the longest such streak in Liberty postseason history and passes Maya Moore for the fifth-longest such streak in WNBA history. Sabrina, who was named to the AP All-WNBA Second Team earlier this week, also moved into second in Liberty franchise history for postseason three-pointers made with the 40th of her career.

Jonquel Jones finished with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds on 100% (4-4) shooting from the line to go along with two assists, one steal, and a block against Las Vegas. Jones passed Tari Phillips for the most postseason offensive rebounds in Liberty franchise history, and the 2024 All-Defensive Second Team selection also scored her 200th postseason point with the Liberty to become the third-fastest player in franchise history to score 200 points in the playoffs (13 games).

Leonie Fiebich scored six points on 50% (2-4) shooting from beyond the arc while setting her postseason career-high with three assists. Fiebich is the first player in franchise history to begin a postseason with three or more consecutive games with an eFG% of 75% or better. Leonie also becomes the first player in franchise history to record a plus-minus of +15 or better in at least three consecutive playoff games, which is tied for the third-longest such streak in WNBA history.

Courtney Vandersloot came off the bench to score three points with four assists and two steals. Vandersloot recorded multiple steals in the playoffs for her sixth time with the Liberty, which is the fifth most multi-steal games of any player in Liberty postseason history. Courtney also passed Penny Taylor for 14th on the WNBA’s all-time postseason steals list (70).

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