WNBA Liberty Defends Their Right To Victory In Epic Showdown, Coach: 'We Deserve To Be Here'

The 2023 WNBA Finals have been grabbing the attention of more people than ever before. 

The matchup of the No. 1 seed Las Vegas Aces and No. 2 seed New York Liberty has proven to pack the excitement and the house. According to ESPN PR, it’s been the most watched WNBA Finals through Game 3 in 20 years with 673,000 average viewers on ABC and ESPN, which is up 13 percent from the 2022 WNBA Finals.

The stakes are high going into Game 4, which tips off at 8 p.m. EST Wednesday night.

If the Aces win, the series is over and they become the WNBA Champions for a second year in a row. If the Liberty can pull off back-to-back wins on their homecourt, they force a Game 5 in Vegas on Friday, Oct. 20 at 9 p.m. EST. 

Before going into Game 3, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said that “we deserve to be here.”

“Vegas is a great team. We know that,” she said during pregame interviews. “They’ve got a lot of confidence at the moment. But we believe in ourselves as well, but we just need to go out there and do it and take one play at a time.”

On Wednesday evening before the start of much anticipated Game 4, Brondello explained how far the team has come this season and how important this game is.

"This is Game 4 of the Finals," Brondello said. "This is win or go home, so hopefully there won't be any complacency there and we're ready to go."

Aces coach Becky Hammon anticipated a “war” ahead of Game 3, which is exactly what they got as the Liberty pulled off the win extending the series to Game 4.

“We expect nothing less than a dogfight, a war. Their backs are against the wall. They have to win,” Hammon said during pregame interviews ahead of Game 3. “And I think we have to meet that emotion, that aggression, that desperation. You have to meet that. You have to be right there with them or even more so. But they're gonna hit the gas so there’s no time for us to hit the cruise control.”

Walking onto the court for Game 4, the vibe and intent won’t be any different as it was walking into Game 3. It’s getting closer to a do or die time as the Aces can take the series with a win. 

Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes, both starters for the Aces, will both be out for Game 4.

Gray, last year’s Finals MVP, suffered a foot injury in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Stokes also suffered a foot injury. Hammon said that both Gray and Stokes are considered questionable for Game 5 if one is needed.

Aces star player A’ja Wilson said she’s treated every game in the Finals “like it’s Game 5.”

“I’ve treated every single game like it’s game 5,” she said before Game 3. “Every single time I step foot on this court in the finals I treat it like it’s do or die because that’s what it is essentially so I don’t think it’s gonna be that hard to match their energy.”

Some fans may wonder if the series will be altered because of the injuries on the Aces team and how the Liberty will embrace taking control of their own destiny. Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu addressed that during the pregame interview on Wednesday evening.

"It's about us not worrying what's going on with another team and us focusing on ourselves," Ionescu said. "Obviously, it's really unfortunate and we've all talked about our hearts go out."

In addition to the highly anticipated game bringing the energy, there will be another exciting halftime show.

Lil' Kim performed to a sold-out crowd during halftime for Game 3 and Game 4 will be bringing the same high energy with Juelz Santana and Jim Jones, both members of The Diplomats, or Dipset. 

If the Liberty wins Wednesday night’s game, they’ll force a Game 5 which is scheduled for Friday night in Las Vegas.