Sabrina Ionescu took the microphone Saturday afternoon with a message in mind.
“We gotta run it back,” Ionescu told the sold-out Barclays Center crowd as she and her New York Liberty teammates received rings commemorating the franchise’s first WNBA championship.
Moments later, a banner marking the Liberty’s 2024 title was raised to the rafters. And over the next two hours, New York took a dominant step in their pursuit of a second one.
We heard y’all wanted the full ceremony? WE GOT YOU pic.twitter.com/PariqTVT6m
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 17, 2025
The Liberty defeated the Las Vegas Aces 92-78 in their 2025 season opener behind 25 points from Breanna Stewart and 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds from Natasha Cloud in her New York debut. The Liberty dominated the first half, pulling ahead by 14 points at the break, and staved off an Aces comeback before pulling away again in the fourth quarter.
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They overcame an all-around performance by Las Vegas star and reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, who finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds.
Cloud, who joined the Liberty via trade in the offseason, was often the catalyst for New York, playing a team-high 33 minutes and adding three steals and two blocks. The 33-year-old, who enters her 10th WNBA season, played eight years for the Washington Mystics and one for the Phoenix Mercury.
After Wilson cut the Liberty lead to 66-64 on an and-1 with 6:56 to play in the fourth quarter, Cloud responded with consecutive and-1s of her own, extending the lead back to eight. Las Vegas would never get closer than six points the rest of the game.
OH MY NATASHA CLOUD 🔥
Not one, but TWO back-to-back AND-1s to keep the @nyliberty ahead in the 4th!
WNBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax pic.twitter.com/7rv8RUnhax
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 17, 2025
Stewart’s 25 points came on 10-of-14 shooting, and she didn’t turn the ball over in 27 minutes. Including the postseason, she and the Liberty are 6-1 against the Aces since losing to Las Vegas in the 2023 WNBA Finals.
New York travels to play the Chicago Sky on Thursday in its road opener, while the Aces head to Connecticut to play the Sun on Tuesday.
(Photo: Mike Stobe / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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