Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) drives to the basket past New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) during the second half of Game 1 in a WNBA basketball final playoff series at Michelob Ultra Arena Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023.
Published Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023 | 2:18 p.m.
Updated Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023 | 5:34 p.m.
Jackie Young is the shyest player on the Aces. Her reserved nature is the complete opposite of most of her teammates. Her volume isn’t turned up to 10, at least in the public eye. She lets her play dictate her feelings.
When she has a game like she did in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, she’s speaking loud and clear because it involves impact plays at both ends of the court. As the Aces strive for a second consecutive championship, their No. 1 overall pick from 2018 put a stamp on things early.
Young scored a playoff career-high 26 points and was instrumental in the Aces’ strong defensive second half, winning 99-82 over the New York Liberty at Michelob Ultra Arena on Sunday.
The former Notre Dame product was deemed an X-factor from coach Becky Hammon before the game. Young was going to be instrumental in not only making timely shots, but trying to lock down the Liberty’s star guard tandem of Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot, primarily the former.
Young rose to the occasion. She went 5 of 8 from 3-point range and also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Defensively, she held Ionescu to 2 of 7 shooting. The league leader in 3-point makes this season, Ionescu went 1 of 5 from deep with Young as her primary defender.
“I thought I had an opportunity there to get downhill,” Young said. “I just try to be aggressive the whole game, with what the defense was giving me.”
The Aces were in need of getting offense from anyone heading into this series. They shot below 45% in their final three regular season meetings against the Liberty, including once shooting 33%. Young got going early with two threes in the first five minutes, and that trickled down.
Kelsey Plum also finished with 26 points, and A’ja Wilson chipped in with 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks to give the Aces a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 series as they try to become the first back-to-back champions since the 2001-02 Los Angeles Sparks. The Aces shot 54.7% and went 9 of 22 from behind the 3-point line.
Wilson will have the hot hand most nights. That was the case in the Aces’ first five playoff games, averaging 26 points and 11 rebounds on 60% shooting. The Liberty put an emphasis on not allowing Wilson to get deep into the post. She eventually got to her spots and went 7 of 11 from the floor.
Hence why it was so important for Young, especially, to get things going. In addition to Chelsea Gray’s 20 points and nine assists, the Las Vegas guards combined for 72 of the 99 points.
“Our trio of guards were pretty ridiculous overall,” Hammon said.
Things changed in the third quarter.
The Liberty took a 49-46 lead into halftime behind a combined 22 points from league MVP Breanna Stewart (10) and Jonquel Jones (12). Stewart shot 4 of 8, but her shot making was a welcomed sight for the Liberty since she shot 35.6% against the Aces in the regular season.
The Aces’ defense made the difference. They held New York to 7 of 19 shooting in the third quarter — Stewart was 3 of 8 — while the Aces went 9 of 15 led by Young scoring 12 of her points in the third. Wilson had nine of her points and all three blocks after halftime.
Las Vegas outscored New York 53-33 in the second half and held the Liberty to 41.2% shooting.
“We just tried to stay locked in,” Young said. “We know they’re a great third quarter team. We just tried to go out there and win the third quarter.”
The Aces have yet to lose this postseason through six games. Five of them have been decided by double digits. That trend isn’t going to last against a New York team that lost Game 1 of its semifinals series against the Connecticut Sun, only to win three straight to play in its first finals appearance since 2002.
It was an important win for the Aces because of others stepping up while Wilson had, by her standards, a quiet night. She’s exuding energy on the defensive end trying to contain Stewart and Jones. The Aces will make it a priority to get their MVP more touches heading into Game 2, which is back here Wednesday (6 p.m., ESPN).
Getting that production from Hammon’s “X-factor” one more time before the series shifts to Brooklyn would be a luxury for the defending champions.
“She’s been impressive all year defensively. She should’ve been on one of those (all-defensive) teams,” Hammon said of Young. “I think Jackie’s just scratching the surface in how great she could be.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
