NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionsecu wouldn't let the New York Liberty come away without the Commissioner's Cup championship in front of their home crowd.
Ionescu scored 26 points — her best offensive effort of the season — and Stewart added 25 points and 11 rebounds to help the Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85, winning the in-season tournament Tuesday night.
“To win our second one, it's special to do it in Barclays with our fans," said Stewart, who earned MVP honors of the game.
New York became the first team to win the tournament twice, also beating the Aces in Las Vegas in 2023.
Ionescu has been recovering from a back issue that sidelined her for a bit after an ankle injury took her out for the start of the season. She has stayed patient and confident that she would eventually get back to her All-Star form.
“I always continued to have that belief in myself since I know the work I put in,” Ionescu said. “(An) injury or two isn't going to diminish who I am.”
The fans chanted her name as the team accepted the championship trophy from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Las Vegas was missing four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who tweaked her right ankle on Sunday in a win over Chicago. The Aces gave the Liberty all they could handle thanks to the stellar play of Jackie Young, who scored 25 of her 31 points in the second half.
“Do what I can to help our team win. Unfortunately we fell short tonight,” Young said.
The Aces led 71-69 early in the fourth quarter before New York went on a 15-2 run to take back control. Pauline Astier got the run started with a 3-pointer with 7:08 left and the Liberty were off and running.
Ionescu's 3-pointer capped the burst and made it 84-73 with 3:39 left. Las Vegas wasn't done, getting within 86-82 on Young's 3 with 2:26 left. She had a chance to get the Aces within three with 37 seconds remaining, but missed a contested layup. Ionescu then hit a 3-pointer on the other end to seal the victory.
“Thought she played phenomenal,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Young. “That shot wasn’t what won or lost the game. She’s a perfectionist, demands a lot out of herself. Needs to give herself a little more grace.”
The Aces got a scare 90 seconds into the game when Chelsea Gray went down after getting hit in the nose. The All-Star guard was down for a few minutes before she went back to the locker room with a towel draped over her head. She returned a few minutes later.
Gray deadpanned after the game when asked about her nose that it was “attached."
Ionescu had a stellar first half, scoring 17 points as the Liberty built 51-37 lead at the break. The 51 points were the most ever in the first half of a Commissioner's Cup championship game. The Liberty led 58-43 in the third quarter before Young got hot. She had 10 points over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the period, including a three-point play with 24 seconds left that made it 65-62.
Young and the Aces continued the run to start the fourth and took a 71-69 lead early in the period. It didn't last long.
This was the fourth time that Stewart played for the Commissioner's Cup title. She won the inaugural one with Seattle in 2021 and then again with New York two years later. The Liberty lost to Minnesota in 2024. Barclays Center wasn't available that night, so the game was played in the UBS Arena, about 20 miles from the Liberty's normal home.
The game brought out the stars, with Spike Lee attending the contest as well as minority Aces owner Tom Brady.
Aces: Host the Chicago Sky on Friday.
Liberty: Host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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