PHOENIX — For the third time in their respective WNBA careers, former Notre Dame guards Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young are WNBA champions.
On Friday, the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 97-86, to bring home their third title in four years. The Aces swept the series, 4-0, after scoring at least 89 points in each of those contests.
Both No. 1 overall WNBA Draft selections and former Notre Dame All-Americans were integral in Las Vegas’ success in the playoffs and all season.
During the Aces’ 12-game playoff run, Young scored in double-figures in every game with five performances of at least 20 points and a pair of 32-point games. In Game 2 against Phoenix, Young had 32 points, including a 21-point third quarter. That is the highest scoring quarter in WNBA Finals history.
During the regular season, Young was the Aces’ second-leading scorer with 16.5 points per game, a mark that ranked 12th in the league. She also posted 5.1 assists per game (11th). She was named to the All-WNBA Second Team on Friday.
In her first year with the Aces, Loyd came off the bench for Las Vegas in the Finals and provided them with a suffocating spark. She scored in double-figures five times during the postseason, including 18 and 16-point performances in Game 1 and Game 3 of the Finals, respectively. In Game 2, Loyd scored her 500th career playoff point.
A do-it-all guard, Loyd averaged 11.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season.
In addition to Loyd and Young, former Notre Dame forward Kat Westbeld played for Phoenix in the Finals. Notre Dame was the only team to produce three players in this year’s Finals.