The two titans of the WNBA have played their final game against each other in the regular season in what appears to be an inevitable WNBA Finals Preview. The Liberty came away victorious in the final game of the season series with a 94-85 win in New York. Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart combined for 45 points leading the Liberty to the win. The Liberty have now pulled within a 1.5games of the Aces who still have the best record in the WNBA at 30-6 yet 3 of their 6 loss have come against the Liberty including a loss in the the commissioners cup. With the win, the Liberty have not only won the season series versus the Aces but also 14 of their last 16 games with the playoffs right around the corner. That begs the question, are the Liberty now title favorites or are the defending champion Aces still the team to beat?
When discussing the Liberty's chances to win a title the conversation has to start with their dynamic duo of Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. Stewart is having a career best season, she is the second leader scorer in the WNBA averaging 23 points per game while Ionescu is second on the team with 17.3 points. Ionescu has been particularly special against the rival Aces scoring 25 or more in two of the three matchups including a 31 point performance in a blowout win on Aug. 6th. Together they have led the Liberty to the second best record in the WNBA at 28-7 including 3 wins over the Aces. As a team, they have been impactful on both sides with the second highest scoring offense at 89 points per game while also coming second in rebounding with 38.2 rebounds per game.
Both the Aces and Liberty came in the season as proverbial super-teams with the key additions they both made to their rosters. Earlier in the season, the Aces appeared to be runaway favorites for the WNBA title but in recent weeks the Liberty have shown otherwise. The Liberty appear to have the Aces number as they are the only team in the WNBA with multiples wins against the Aces. Despite the Aces still having the best record, the Liberty appear to be surging at the right time while the Aces have suffered their second straight loss, both on the road to the Mystics and Liberty. With Stewart playing like an MVP candidate and the Liberty playing their best basketball of the season, they should be considered title favorites over a dominant Aces squad that will likely face the Liberty in what would surely be an epic WNBA Finals.
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