By CNN
—
The New York Liberty became the first WNBA team to clinch a playoff berth following their 79-67 road victory against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Saturday.
Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones led the way for the Liberty at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas; Ionescu finished with 23 points and six rebounds, Stewart added 18 points, seven boards and two blocks, while Jones had 10 points, a game-high 17 rebounds and seven assists.
“We are super excited to clinch a spot into the playoffs. Our goal isn’t just to make it there, but it’s going to be continuing to win these games that we have coming up. Continuing to get better as a team and focus on ourselves,” Ionescu said postgame.
“It’s a really long season. We’re just kind of getting back into it. It’s nice to see we’ve been able to pick up where we left off and keep grinding away.”
With the victory, New York is off to a franchise-best 23-4 start and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Aces. The Liberty will be appearing in the postseason for the 19th time in the franchise’s 28-year history.
New York head coach Sandy Brondello becomes the first coach in WNBA history to guide teams to the playoffs in her first 12 seasons in the league.
New York held the Aces – who fell to 16-9 on the season – to only eight points in the second quarter. It was Las Vegas’ first single-digit scoring quarter of the season.
Aces superstar A’ja Wilson finished with a game-high 24 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in the loss. It was Las Vegas’ first game since the month-long Olympic break.
The Liberty will next face the Dallas Wings at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday, while the Aces look to bounce back against the Los Angeles Sparks at home on Sunday.
