Jonquel Jones wins Commissioner’s Cup MVP as Liberty take down Aces

The Liberty finally hoisted their first piece of hardware in the team’s 26-year history.

The 2023 Commissioner’s Cup ended with an upset, a result that left the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas silent. That’s because the New York Liberty took down the Las Vegas Aces, 82-63, to win this year’s in-season tournament. It was an all-out effort that surprisingly neutralized the WNBA’s defending champions — and previous Commissioner’s Cup winners — for the second time in 10 days.

Throughout the 2023 season, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello called on her bench to play with more confidence. More specifically, she called on guard Marine Johannes to play with freedom and fearlessness that awarded her the EuroCup Women’s Final MVP in April.

That player came to play on Tuesday. And she assisted Jonquel Jones, who has been on a hot streak post-All-Star break. Jones finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds. The performance landed her MVP of the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup. She provided the exclamation point on the night.

With just over two minutes remaining, she battled down low with Aces’ bigs and scored a bucket with center Alaina Coated draped all over her. It was the final blow and another reminder how well the center could play after healing from last season’s foot injury.

Both teams started the highly anticipated Commissioner’s Cup Game like they were shooting on a smaller hoop. The Liberty and Aces went scoreless in the first three and a half minutes into the game. It took 14 possessions until A’ja Wilson knocked down a pair of free throws to break the scoreless tie.

Johannes was first to catch a spark. She came off the bench to hit back-to-back three-pointers that gave her team a 17-8 lead. She continued in the second quarter and put the Libs up 11 after another pair of treys. Her first four makes in the game came from downtown as she eventually finished with five made in the game. The sparkplug contributed a game-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.

The freedom was on display. She connected on transition threes and one-legged jumpers that have made her a fan favorite in New York. It led to the Aces’ first home loss of the season.

The first half was a see-saw battle. After their slow start, the Aces went into halftime up two. They followed the lead of floor general Chelsea Gray. In the final moments of the second, Gray completed an old-fashioned three-point play that led the Michelob Ultra Arena to erupt. It capped an 11-0 run that totally erased the sluggish start and gave the home team a two-point lead at halftime. It was a whole new game after that.

But just like the previous two games in this series, the winner jumped out ahed in the third. The Liberty won the third period, 24-14. Reigning MVP Wilson failed to score in the period.

And on the fourth, it was more domination by the Liberty. The won that period too, 26-15. The four three-pointers to close the game out was enough to put the game out of reach and begin the celebrations for the away team.