There was no sign of a championship hangover at Barclays Center on Saturday afternoon.
After seeing the franchise’s first WNBA title banner rise up to the rafters, the Liberty got right to business. A clear message was sent: it’s time to run it back.
The first recipients of the message were A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces, who fell 92-78 in the first game of the 2025 WNBA season.
Breanna Stewart led the way with a team-high 25 points and eight rebounds. She logged 27 minutes in her first regular season game after undergoing offseason knee surgery.
Wilson, the reigning unanimous MVP, finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds, keeping her team close in the second half after trailing by as many as 17 points early on.
She shortened the deficit to three before Jonquel Jones pushed it back to five at the end of the third quarter.
The Aces got within two in the fourth but fell victim to Natasha Cloud’s first Liberty moment.
After Wilson’s and-1finish with 6:56 remaining, Cloud dashed down the court, drew contact from Chelsea Gray and got a traditional three-point play of her own.
On the next possession, the Aces failed to convert on multiple chances and Cloud closed the possession by winning a loose ball against Gray by the sideline. Cloud again converted on a traditional three-point play to extend the lead to eight.
The home crowd erupted. With plays like that, Cloud will easily be a fan favorite in Brooklyn. And the plays will contribute to another title run with the championship window wide open.
In her Liberty debut, Cloud logged 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
Her late explosion was too much to come back from as the lead stretched to double digits again. And Las Vegas’ early deficit to help them either.
The free-flowing, spaced offense Sandy Brondello emphasized during training camp put the Aces in that deficit. The five-out offense kept the Aces spaced and left with the decision to help — or not — on some drives. They stayed home and didn’t help on some drives, leading to favorable looks at the rim for Sabrina Ionescu and Cloud.
Ionescu logged eight points, seven rebound and four assists.
They contributed to the Liberty winning the second quarter, 28-15, while showing how dangerous the offense could be.
On one possession in the second quarter, two Aces defenders closed out of Jones bringing the ball up the court, which left Cloud wide open for a layup.
It created the exact conundrum Cloud referenced prior to the home opener: who do you decide to lock in on with so many Liberty weapons?
On Saturday, the Aces didn’t have much answers for it.
And as the season goes on, the rest of the league will have to figure it out as well.
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