LAS VEGAS — The boo birds sang from Section 110 inside Michelob Ultra Arena as the New York Liberty took the court before the game.Las Vegas provides one of the league’s most raucous settings, but ahead of the Liberty’s 87-76 win over the Aces on Tuesday night, there was maybe a little added spice behind New York’s pregame welcome. After all, these teams “have history,” as the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart put it.For the better part of the last four seasons, the Aces and Liberty have provided the WNBA with some of the most scintillating basketball.The last four titles belong to these teams, with the Aces winning three and the Liberty one. The MVP race has been a similar story, as A’ja Wilson owns three of the last four MVP awards and Stewart the other. So, while Tuesday was just another regular-season game, it was also so much more.“I understand the rivalry here,” Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said before the game. “I understand how much it matters to this organization, these players and the familiarity from that. It’s a good test early.”Tuesday was the first regular-season meeting between the Aces and the Liberty and a preview of the upcoming Commissioner’s Cup final.
The 2026 Cup final, which the Liberty will host on June 30, will be the first time in league history that the in-season tournament has a two-time winner. Since the Commissioner’s Cup began in 2021, a different team has been crowned champion every year, including the Aces in 2022 and the Liberty in 2023.But more important than the Cup title is the one both teams could be playing for in October.“Vegas is obviously the defending champs, and we want to get back there,” Stewart said.The Liberty looked like the enforcer for a majority of Tuesday’s game, jumping out to a 13-point lead late in the second quarter. But the Aces continued to hang around. They cut New York’s lead to as few as 4 points about midway through the third quarter, before it ballooned to 19.But with three minutes remaining, the Aces mounted a comeback. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Aces guard Chelsea Gray and forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus cut the Liberty’s lead to 8. The Liberty responded with a deep ball from Sabrina Ionescu and another from Stewart.
