*plays Drake’s Back to Back*
In a thrilling Game 4 match-up at Barclays Center, the Las Vegas Aces fought through a deficit in the second half against the New York Liberty to secure back-to-back championships!
“They’re gonna come out hungry. Hungrier than they’ve ever been. That’s why our priority is to come out attacking.” – Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
From tip-off to the end of the first half, it looked like the New York Liberty were on pace to secure a win at home and extend the series. Considering that Aces’ starters, Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes were also both sidelined with injuries, the Liberty had a chance.
The Aces, however, were just hungrier.
Despite not being on the floor, Chelsea Gray was seen from the sidelines gassing her teammates up and providing a much-needed spark. The Aces would go on a game-shifting run, scoring six straight points, to go ahead 70-64 with 1:26 left in the fourth.
Relentless, despite being down, New York responded with a 3-pointer, by Courtney Varndersloot, and a steal on the defensive end leading to a Sabrina Ionesco jumper from the foul line. This put the Liberty within one point with 41.7 seconds left.
Can you say, thriller?
[Photos by: @crisp_finishimage]
On the possession, following Ionesco’s jumper, Las Vegas worked the shot clock down before coach Becky Hammon signaled for a time-out. Three seconds left on the shot clock. On the inbound, A’ja Wilson got the ball on a lob, but Breanna Stewart met her at the hoop with a block.
New York now has one last chance.
With 8.8 seconds left on the game clock, and coming out of a timeout, the Liberty looked to run a play that would get Stewart the ball. She was quickly double-teamed. The ball landed in Vandersloot’s hands in the corner, but her shot missed badly. Game over.
[Photos by: @crisp_finishimage]
The Las Vegas Aces ran to mid-court in celebration as the game clock hit zero. They were WNBA champions once again.
Following the game, ESPN announced that Game 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals presented by YouTubeTV was the most watched Game 4 on record! The live broadcast averaged 889,000 viewers and peaked at 1.3 million viewers! This is the highest amount reached in the WNBA Finals in 20 years!
Check out my recap & some of our exclusive clips below!
