Aces’ Becky Hammon leaves no doubt with defiant message after Game 2 loss to Liberty

As the saying goes, winning a championship is hard, but defending it is harder. The Las Vegas Aces are on the brink of elimination after the New York Liberty won Game 2 of their semifinal series in the WNBA Playoffs, going up 2-0 on the defending champions. After Breanna Stewart poured in 34 points to take Game 1, Sabrina Ionescu picked up the scoring load for 24 points to fend off a late Aces rally. Despite facing a possible Liberty sweep, Aces coach Becky Hammon remained defiant.

“We have neither lost or won a championship. Nothing has been won tonight,” the coach said, via a post from ESPN’s Alexa Philippou on X, formerly Twitter. “Let there be no doubt, we’re in for a war.”

Can the Aces fend off the broom?

After their Game 2 loss, the Aces need to prepare for war if they want to stop the Liberty from sweeping them. Three-time MVP A’ja Wilson’s valiant effort of 24 points and seven rebounds on 11 for 18 shooting wasn’t enough to overcome the Aces’ defensive issues, which gave their opponents the momentum for most of the game.

Likewise, these defensive issues nagged Becky Hammon throughout the game, as her team gave the Liberty open layup after open layup. Moreover, defense was only one of their problems.

“We understand that it’s mostly us. The turnovers, we leave seven points on the free throw line. And it really was a one-point game, one-possession game, give or take. We got a couple of good cracks and missed, but it shouldn’t come to that point,” the coach said, per Jack Williams for the Las Vegas Sun.

One of these glaring problems, according to the coach, was the team’s effort, unbefitting for a two-time defending champion.

“They’re doing what they need to do to win basketball games, but we’re not doing what we need to do to win basketball games, not at a high enough level,” Hammon added. “It’s not good enough.”

Similar to the NBA, no team in the WNBA has come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a playoff series. Only one team, the Phoenix Mercury, forced a deciding Game 5 in 2018, though they ultimately lost to the Seattle Storm.

Outlook

Despite the team’s confidence that they can make history, the Aces might also play without Kiah Stokes, their key interior defender and rebounder, who suffered a head injury that forced her to leave Game 2 in the third quarter.

Still, the Liberty knows that the Aces won’t lay down for them, and they must take the series to win. The Liberty avenging their Finals losses last season in grand style might fire them up enough to go all the way this year.