Liberty's attempt to avenge the Aces in the WNBA playoffs offers numerous storylines

Sabrina Ionescu set the tone as the Liberty secured their spot in the WNBA semifinals with a 91-82 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday night at Barclays Center.

“We still have a score to settle,” she said on the show before the Las Vegas Aces secured their place in the semifinals with a win over the Seattle Storm.

The Liberty have been looking for revenge this season, and if they lose to the Aces again – one round away from being eliminated in last year's finals – the league leaders will face many questions.

From Sunday onwards, they were given the opportunity to take revenge under great pressure.

“(The Liberty) played like a pissed off team,” Aces coach Becky Hammon told reporters Tuesday. “They played with grit. And we worked our way there. I feel like we've gotten our grit back in the last three to four weeks.”

The Liberty beat the Aces 3-0 in the regular season after losing the best-of-five finals in four games last season.

However, Chelsea Gray and A'ja Wilson each missed one of those games for the Aces, and Courtney Vandersloot and Betnijah-Laney Hamilton of the Liberty also each missed at least one of those games.

In recent weeks, the Aces, chasing their elusive third straight win, have looked more like the two-time defending champions they are – winning eight in a row, including the playoffs – after starting the regular season 22-13.

Gray began the season with the foot injury she sustained in last year's finale, which led to Jackie Young taking on a new position as host.

The offense didn't run as smoothly and 2024 MVP Wilson carried much of the load.

The Aces' defense was also vulnerable, as when they allowed 32 points in the fourth quarter and the Wings were able to come back from a deficit to win on August 27.

Since then, however, Hammon has rebuilt her team and the Aces have won nine of their last ten regular season games.

But the regular season is history, and Sunday offers the Liberty and the Aces a fresh start in a series full of storylines.

Here's a look at some of them:

Improving Liberty’s backcourt

It was clear from the final statements of the 2023 season that the Liberty are looking for athletic, tall and defensive-minded players for their bench.

They found that in Leonie Fiebich.

Fiebich impressed throughout the regular season and was named the starter in place of Vandersloot in the playoffs. At 6'4″, Fiebich is tall, can shoot from the outside, and can defend opposing defenders.

In last year's finals, Ionescu and Vandersloot had trouble slowing down the Aces' defense, allowing the guards to score 72 of Las Vegas' 99 points in Game 1. They also had trouble shooting against their defense, scoring just 17 and 19 points in total in the first two games of the series, respectively.

Between Gray, Young and Kelsey Plum, Young is the tallest at 6'10″. Fiebich's size will certainly help the Liberty maintain a strong defensive front against the Aces guards.

Stewart vs Wilson

The semifinal series will see the two youngest MVPs face off, and whoever comes out on top will likely secure a spot in the final.

This season, Wilson was looking to win the award again after losing it to Stewart in 2023.

Walker averaged 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks, making him the league's best player.

Stewart, on the other hand, is still hoping to bring her home state its first championship title and is trying to rebound from her performance last year.

She failed to make the game-winning shot that would have allowed her to participate in last year's finals, and she made only 35.8 percent of her shots in the series.

Threats from the depths

Both teams have players on the bench who can really turn it on on any given night.

Tiffany Hayes did this recently for the Aces when she scored 20 points as a substitute in her first game against Seattle after scoring 21 points in the final game of the regular season.

The 12-year veteran averaged 14.5 points in the playoffs with a shooting percentage of 63.2 percent.

Liberty's bench is stronger and Vandersloot is ready to provide new momentum.

Kayla Thornton has three games with 16 or more points.