Breanna Stewart scored 25 factors and Natasha Cloud added 22 to assist the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 92-78 on Saturday within the season opener, proper after the workforce unveiled its 2024 WNBA championship banner.
New York had a 15-minute ceremony earlier than the sport the place the gamers obtained their championship rings and the banner was raised to the rafters of Barclays Heart to the delight of the sellout crowd of 17,344.
The Liberty used the momentum and power from that ceremony to beat the rival Aces, whom they eradicated within the WNBA playoff semifinals final 12 months.
New York constructed a 14-point halftime lead earlier than Las Vegas chipped away to get inside 66-64 early within the fourth quarter. Cloud, who got here to the Liberty in an offseason commerce, then had consecutive three-point performs to start out an 8-0 run that made it 74-64 with 5:47 left.
Las Vegas may solely get inside six the remainder of the way in which.
A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 31 factors and 16 rebounds. Jackie Younger added 16 factors for the Aces, who had been lacking reserve Crystal Bradford. Bradford was serving a one-game suspension for an incident from 2021. This was her first time on a regular-season roster since then.
Jewell Loyd, who got here to the Aces within the offseason through a commerce, struggled in her first recreation with Las Vegas. She missed her first 4 photographs earlier than scoring her first factors on an elbow jumper halfway by way of the second quarter. She completed with 5 factors.
