Familiar foes: Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty set for WNBA Finals rematch in playoff semifinals

NEW YORK (AP) — The stage is set for A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces to take on Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty in a star-studded rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals.

This time it's a round sooner.

The Liberty and Aces swept their first-round opponents and will meet Sunday in a semifinal showdown. New York has been on a mission all season to get back to the Finals and win the franchise's first WNBA championship.

To accomplish that goal they'll have to beat the two-time defending champion Aces. They'll meet in the semifinals best-of-five series that begins in New York in Sunday.

“They’ve been the best team all year. They played like a team ,,, with an edge," Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said. “And we’ve worked our way there. I feel like we got our edge back probably in the last three to four weeks. I don’t think we’re the same team that New York has seen.”

The Liberty swept all three games during the regular season from Las Vegas with the last victory in New York three weeks ago. Unanimous league MV P A'ja Wilson didn't play in that game as she was resting an injured foot.

“New York is a lot better than last year,” Aces guard Kelsey Plum said. “Just plain and simple. They’re bigger. They’ve shot the ball at a better clip. Pound for pound, individually, if you go down the line, all of them are better players.

“We have to focus on what we can do. Sometimes, we can be our own worst enemy," Plum added. "But they kicked our butt all three times. This is a fresh start. But there’s no secret they’ve taken care of business and they’ve done what they needed to do, and that’s why they have the 1 seed. So it’s an uphill battle.”

Unlike last season when the Aces were the No. 1 seed, the Liberty have homecourt advantage this time.

While New York has been the best team all season the Aces struggled at the beginning of the year while Chelsea Gray was out recovering from a foot injury she suffered in the 2023 Finals.

The Aces have been play lately, winning nine of their final 10 games heading into the postseason before they swept Seattle in the opening round. The only loss in that stretch was the one to New York.

The Liberty advanced to the semifinals by sweeping Atlanta. They were challenged in the second game, rallying from an 11-point deficit behind a strong game from Sabrina Ionescu, who matched the franchise playoff record with 36 points.

“We wanted to win this series for many reasons, obviously staying in New York. But knowing that the time between the quarterfinals and the semis, this is the most we have,” Stewart said. “So for us to kind of recover, get back into it and be ready for, the semifinal series on Sunday is really important.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) grabs a rebound against the Seattle Storm during the second half in Game 2 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Las Vegas Aces guard Tiffany Hayes (15) drives against Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith (4) and guard Jewell Loyd (24) during the second half in Game 2 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) drives against Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith (4) during the second half in Game 2 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) celebrates after making a 3-point shot against the Seattle Storm during the second half in Game 2 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu reacts during the second half of a first-round WNBA basketball playoff game against the Atlanta Dream, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. The Liberty won 91-82 to clinch the series 2-0. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting around their records Wednesday as financial markets around the world take a pause following big recent moves.

The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in early trading, a day after setting an all-time high for the 41st time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.

Treasury yields were also holding relatively steady in the bond market, a day after sinking on a surprisingly weak update on confidence among U.S. consumers. The worst drop in confidence in three years raised worries about the U.S. economy, but it also raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will deliver another dose of bigger-than-usual relief through a big cut to interest rates at its next meeting.

In stock markets abroad, indexes moved more modestly after jumping a day before on hopes that new stimulus measures from China would prop up the world’s second-largest economy. Chinese indexes rose again Tuesday, but they pared their gains as the day progressed, while European indexes were modestly lower. Prices for crude oil also gave back gains.

The next date on the calendar circled for a potentially big market move is next week, when the latest monthly update on the U.S. job market will arrive. Slowing hiring in the world’s largest economy has become the top concern among investors, now that inflation has eased significantly from its peak two summers ago.

While the number of layoffs remains relatively low, U.S. employers are also more hesitant to hire. Critics worry the job market could weaken further as all the past hikes to interest rates made by the Federal Reserve make their way fully through the system.

The Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high for more than a year in hopes of slowing the U.S. economy enough to stifle inflation. Last week, it swung its focus toward protecting the job market and cut the federal funds rate by a larger-than-usual half of a percentage point. Critics say it may be moving too late.

A strong job market would help Cintas, which provides uniforms, fire extinguishers and other products to businesses. It rose 1.1% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Cintas also increased its forecasts for profit and revenue over the full fiscal year.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Stitch Fix, which tumbled 34.5% after the online fashion styling service said its revenue in the current quarter could be 15% to 17% weaker than a year earlier. Its stock has dropped below $3 from $100 early in the pandemic.

KB Home fell 5.8% after reporting profit for the latest quarter that was just shy of analysts’ expectations. The homebuilder, though, said orders picked up in August as mortgage rates came down.

Besides lowering mortgage rates, rate cuts by the Fed could also make it more affordable to get loans for a car or to buy things on credit cards and give the economy a boost.

While everyone on Wall Street is already convinced the Federal Reserve will cut the federal funds rate at its next meeting in November, a slight majority of bets are on the Fed cutting by another half of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group. It usually moves rates by a quarter of a percentage point at a time.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.76% from 3.73% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, fell to 3.53% from 3.54%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose 1.2% in Shanghai, fell 1.3% in South Korea and slipped 0.1% in London.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - The Tokyo Stock Exchange building is seen Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)