By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net    

The next chapter of the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces rivalry will continue in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) semifinals after both teams swept their opponents 2-0 in the opening round on Tuesday night.

Grand Bahamian Jonquel “JJ” Jones and the Libs sent the eighth-seeded Atlanta Dream packing  with a 91-82 victory at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York.

Meanwhile, the defending champions Las Vegas Aces took care of business against the Seattle Storm 83-76 at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Both victories set the stage for what is expected to be an intense WNBA Finals rematch beginning with the opening game of the best-of-five series on Sunday.

The Libs have handled business against the back-to-back champions all season long, sweeping all three games during the regular season and securing home-court advantage for this postseason. 

The Aces have had their fair share of problems on their quest to a potential three-peat but they ended the regular season on a strong note, winning nine out of their final 10 games played.

With both teams considered as title favourites, this series will certainly be a fight to the finish.

Grand Bahamian forward Jones had a big night on Tuesday in the Libs elimination game against the Dream. She recorded a double-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals in 35 minutes played.

She shot 8-for-12 on field goals and 3-for-4 at the charity stripe in the round one victory.

Three-point specialist Sabrina Ionescu was special for New York. She went off for a game-high 36 points, nine dimes and three steals. Her offensive output included five makes from long range.

According to Jones, it felt good to advance to the semifinals and be an inspiration to her supporters back at home.

“It feels good. Every time I step on the court I represent The Bahamas and everybody that is at home. I understand how special it is to be the only Bahamian in the league and hopefully I will be able to open more doors for other young ladies coming up who want to be in my shoes one day. I understand that I am a role model for a lot of them. I do not take it lightly so anytime I get to show love to the 242 I want to do that,” she said. 

The Dream were seeking vengeance after their 83-69 loss in the postseason opener on Sunday.  They opened game two with a 28-19 performance in the first quarter.

After trailing by nine points to end the first, Jones made a layup to give the Libs a 39-36 lead at the 5:07 mark. 

The former WNBA MVP canned a deep three-pointer off an Ionescu dime to keep her team within single digits on the scoreboard. 

The Dream were still leading 48-43 at the halftime break.

The WNBA’s top-seeded squad sapped any momentum the Dream had in the first half and used it for their advantage in the second half of the game. 

Ionescu continued to pour in the buckets in the third quarter. 

Her efforts tied the score on a few occasions but it was a 10-foot jumper that put the Liberty back on top 61-59 with less than three minutes to go. 

New York came out of the quarter ahead by one (65-64). 

Jones made a two-pointer at the 5:04 mark of the final quarter that gave the New York Liberty a 77-72 advantage which signalled the end of Atlanta’s season. 

The Dream never regained the lead after this point in the game and were outscored 26-18 in the final quarter of their season.

Jones talked about the competitiveness of the closeout game.

“That is the game of basketball. When you get into the playoffs, every team is really good and obviously the games are gonna be physical and swing one way or another. 

“The main thing was just that we understood that it was gonna be a fight. 

“We didn’t have the expectation that we were gonna go out there and blow them out.

“Ultimately, we were ready for a fight. We understood that it was gonna come down to the end and that we needed big stops and we were able to get them,” she said.

Atlanta guard Allisha Gray dropped a team-high 26 points and pulled down three rebounds in the tough loss.

The Dream had a hot shooting night but could not capitalise on their efforts. They shot 53.8 per cent on field goals while New York shot 49.3 per cent.

Atlanta could not overcome their turnover woes. The Libs forced 14 turnovers while only turning over the ball nine times in the contest.

For New York, the goal is not only a championship but to get revenge against the Aces, who sent them home in four games in last year’s WNBA Finals. 

The star-studded showdown kicks off on Sunday at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York.