New York Liberty Heading To WNBA Finals For First Time In 21 Years!

The New York Liberty are on their way to the WNBA Finals for the first time in 21 years after beating the Connecticut Sun in the semifinals in game four on Sunday. 

The Semifinals between the Liberty and Connecticut Sun began Sunday, Sept 24. The Liberty lost the first game and won the second on their home court before heading to Connecticut for games four and five, where they dominated the Sun, advancing to the Finals after defeating them 87-84.

During the challenging game 4, Jonquel Jones scored 25 points, including five in the final minute. The former Sun player also had 15 rebounds and four blocked shots. Breanna Stewart led the Liberty in scoring with 27 points, and Betnijah Laney had 21 points. 

Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces have been destined to face off in the finals all season as the league's No. 1 (Aces) and No. 2 (Liberty) teams. The best-of-five series begins on Sunday, Oct 8, in Las Vegas. The Aces have been in the Finals before, winning the franchise’s first championship last season, but this is the Liberty’s first time advancing to the WNBA Finals since 2002. They are also the only original franchise never to win a championship. 

The Aces and Liberty played each other four times during the regular season and had a fifth matchup during the Commissioner’s Cup championship that the Liberty won.

Less than a week ago, Stewart was named MVP of the season. 

“Coco, what you said when you won the U.S. Open stuck with me. I tried my best to carry this gracefully, but honestly, to those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were adding gas,” she said during her speech after being awarded MVP.

“And now, I’m burning so bright. I do my best to carry myself gracefully and be a great teammate. I wanna be an example to Ruby [her daughter] about what it means to approach life with the humility and grit necessary to lead teams, help others be great, and win at things that matter most.” 

At one point in the press conference before Game 2 of the semifinals, Stewart had Ruby join her so she could witness her mom becoming the MVP. She was awarded the MVP trophy on the court in front of a sold-out crowd in Brooklyn. 

Stewart shared a carousel of photos and a video on Instagram captioned, “This one’s for you, New York!” The video showed clips of Stewart in action on the court, and the photos show the WNBA star accepting her trophy and celebrating with her team. 

Many "Stewie's" fans dropped into the comments on the photos and videos announcing her MVP to share their happiness for her accomplishment.

"Ok, I can’t stop tearing up looking at these ladies so happy for Stewie!!!!" one fan wrote. Another added, "Beat TEAM and coach assembled in the WNBA 🔥❤️ Go Stevie and the NY Liberty."

The 2023 WNBA Finals begins on Sunday, Oct 8 at 3 p.m. in Vegas. Game 2 will also be played in Vegas on Oct 11 at 9 p.m. Games 3 and 4 (if necessary) will be played in Brooklyn on Oct. 15 and 18, and if a Game 5 is needed, it will be played in Vegas on Oct 20.