Liberty beat Aces 93-85 for 2026 Commissioner's Cup
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Sabrina Ionescu scored a season-high 26 points with five made three-pointers, capping it with a banked three with 17.7 seconds left that sealed the 93-85 win — her best outing since returning from an early-season injury.
- Breanna Stewart added 25 points and 11 rebounds, was named Cup MVP, and combined with Ionescu for 51 of New York's 93 points.
- Jackie Young scored a game-high 31 for the Aces, who played without injured star A'ja Wilson; Las Vegas shot just 6-of-26 (23%) from three and was outrebounded 42-30.
- The Liberty built a 17-point third-quarter lead before the Aces briefly took a 71-69 edge, then New York ripped off a 12-0 run after Ionescu and Stewart re-entered with 7:12 remaining.
- Rookie Pauline Astier (15 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast) and Leonie Fiebich (8 reb) delivered the key plays during that closing run — Astier's go-ahead three and a fast-break layup off an Ionescu pass pushed the margin to 79-71.
- New York went 24-of-29 from the free throw line to Las Vegas's 11-of-14, repeating the decisive FT advantage from their 87-76 win over the Aces on June 23.
- Chennedy Carter, back after a five-game illness absence, scored 18 in her first season with Las Vegas; the source flags her energy and perimeter defense as a difference-maker for the Aces the rest of the way.
Why it matters: The Cup loss is the Aces' second straight defeat to New York after a 87-76 loss on June 23, and the absence of A'ja Wilson exposed how thin Las Vegas's margin becomes without her. For Ionescu, Tuesday's season-high followed a stretch in which her scoring average sat at 9.5 (down from 18.2 in 2025), with coach DeMarco framing the performance as proof she remains a top-tier player.
