NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 25 points and Natasha Cloud added 22 to help the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 92-78 on Saturday in the season opener, right after the team unveiled its 2024 WNBA championship banner.
New York had a 15-minute ceremony before the game where the players received their championship rings and the banner was raised to the rafters of Barclays Center to the delight of the sellout crowd of 17,344.
The Liberty used the momentum and energy from that ceremony to beat the rival Aces, whom they eliminated in the WNBA playoff semifinals last year.
New York built a 14-point halftime lead before Las Vegas chipped away to get within 66-64 early in the fourth quarter. Cloud, who came to the Liberty in an offseason trade, then had consecutive three-point plays to start an 8-0 run that made it 74-64 with 5:47 left.
Las Vegas could only get within six the rest of the way.
A'ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 31 points and 16 rebounds. Jackie Young added 16 points for the Aces, who were missing reserve Crystal Bradford. Bradford was serving a one-game suspension for an incident from 2021. This was her first time on a regular-season roster since then.
Jewell Loyd, who came to the Aces in the offseason via a trade, struggled in her first game with Las Vegas. She missed her first four shots before scoring her first points on an elbow jumper midway through the second quarter. She finished with five points.
___
