WNBA playoffs: Stewart stars as Liberty gain revenge over Aces in finals rematch

• Breanna Stewart scores 34 points for New York
• Liberty take first game of best-of-five semi-finals

Breanna Stewart scored 34 points and Sabrina Ionescu had 21 to help the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 87-77 on Sunday in Game 1 of their semi-finals series.

Jonquel Jones added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Liberty. Game 2 of the best-of-five matchup is Tuesday night in New York. Kelsey Plum scored 24 points and A'ja Wilson added 21 for the Aces.

This was a rematch of last season's WNBA finals that the Aces won in four games, including clinching the championship in New York. The Liberty said they've had a scar from that loss and have used it as motivation all season. New York had the best record in the league and earned the top seed in the playoffs.

Last season the Aces were the No 1 seed, so New York had to travel to Las Vegas for the opening two games of the Finals. The Liberty returned home down 0-2 and were unable to recover their momentum.