The WNBA has a back-to-back championship team for the first time in over 20 years after the Las Vegas Aces narrowly defeated the New York Liberty, 70-69, on Oct. 18, at Madison Square Garden.
The Aces won the championship series 3 games to 1, becoming the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002 to win consecutive titles. The Houston Comets also won four straight titles from 1997 to 2000, the WNBA’s first four years of existence.
The Aces secured the victory without two of their starters, Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes, who suffered foot injuries in the previous game. A’Ja Wilson, who was voted the Finals MVP, scored 24 points and snatched 16 rebounds. The superstar and University of South Carolina alumnus finished third in the regular-season MVP balloting.
“It’s not easy, as you know,” Wilson said. “This is what it’s all about. Not a lot of people get to do it. To be short-handed and win is amazing. It makes the win that much better. It’s hard to get back to the Finals to win again.”
“We’ve been facing adversity all season, playing without different player,” said Alysha Clark, who started for the Aces Wednesday. “We have some professional fighters. To weather the storm of everything we went through, to show up every single day. To be in this moment right now and do it together, it speaks volumes about us, our chemistry.”Sadly, the Liberty
weren’t able to become the first team to be down 0-2 in the Finals and win the championship. Every team that has fallen behind two games in the Finals has lost the best-of-five series nine times with a 2-10 all-time record.RELATED CONTENT: A Different Kind of Chip: WNBA Star A’ja Wilson Scores Historic Endorsement with Ruffles