No. 1 NY Liberty advance to WNBA Finals, No. 3 Connecticut force Game 5 against No. 2 Minnesota Lynx

The GIST: And just like that, one half of the WNBA Finals is officially set, while the other semi series heads to the best two words in women’s basketball: Game 5. Let’s rock.

No. 1 NY Liberty enact revenge on No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, advance to Finals: Nearly one year after losing to the Aces in the 2023 WNBA Finals, NY penned a new ending to the superteam clash yesterday, winning Game 4 76–62 and knocking Vegas out of the postseason.

• After an uncharacteristically quiet Game 3, NY’s Sabrina Ionescu was on fire, putting up 22 points alongside teammate Breanna Stewart’s commanding double-double. However, it was NY’s defense that secured their sixth Finals appearance by holding three Vegas starters to single-digits. They’re the top seed for a reason.

• As Wilson said, it’s enormously difficult to win back-to-back titles, let alone three in a row. The talented Aces squad was largely unchanged from their two championship runs, but this season was stymied by player injuries, resulting in a roller coaster run that ended in the semis.

No. 3 Connecticut Sun complete comeback, force Game 5 against No. 2 Minnesota Lynx: Trailing by seven points and on the brink of elimination at halftime, the Sun blinded the Lynx in the second half, winning 92–82 after outscoring Minnesota 49-32 in the final two quarters.

• Connecticut’s Ty Harris led the charge, scoring a team-high 20 points and keeping the Sun in the game, even while superstars Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner struggled to find their groove in the first half.

• The series now heads back to Minnesota for a winner-take-all Game 5 tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. The Lynx’s Napheesa Collier is pushing to send her team to the Finals for the first time since 2017, but this Sun roster has seen this film before when they reached the championship series in 2022. You don’t want to miss this.