Ionescu scores 22 points to lead Liberty to 76-62 win over Aces and into WNBA Finals

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu didn't take long to make a quick statement that what transpired not even 48 hours earlier would not happen again.

But she and her Liberty teammates had an even larger message to deliver.

Ionescu rebounded from a rare off game to score 22 points, and nearly a year after the Aces ended the Liberty's dream of a championship, New York returned the favor Sunday afternoon by defeating Las Vegas 76-62 to advance to the WNBA Finals.

The top-seeded Liberty will have home-court advantage in the championship series and will face either the Connecticut Sun or Minnesota Lynx, who will play Game 5 on Tuesday. This is the Liberty's sixth trip to the finals, but the franchise is still seeking its first title.

“We haven't done anything yet,” said New York's Breanna Stewart, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds. “This was a tough series, an emotional series for a number of different reasons. But we're going to the finals and we're hosting Game 1 and Game 2. We're ready to go. Just the feeling of not (being) satisfied."

New York lost in four games to the shorthanded Aces on Oct. 18, 2023, and turned the painful defeat into a mission. The Liberty have been the league's best team this season and, including the playoffs, went 6-1 against Las Vegas.

Ionescu said the Aces “made us a better team,” and she made it clear she respects how difficult it was for Las Vegas to win back-to-back titles. But, no doubt, the Aces fueled New York's drive by how they celebrated after last season, with coach Becky Hammon even taking a shot during the victory parade at Stewart going 3 for 17 in the final game.

“We talked our crap, they heard and they get to talk their crap,” Hammon said Sunday. “It's part of the game. It's not personal. I can talk crap all I want. At the end of the day, I have mad respect for (coach) Sandy (Brondello). Sandy coached me. Me and Sandy go way back. Sab, Stewie, I have mad respect for those players. I think Stewie is phenomenal.”

The Aces, whose record 12-game home playoff winning streak ended, were hoping to make more WNBA history. Last year, they became the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02 to win back-to-back titles and were trying to become the first club to capture three successive championships since the Houston Comets took four straight in 1997-2000.

“It's hard,” said A'ja Wilson, who led the Aces with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. “Everybody wants to beat you. You're everybody's Super Bowl. (The loss) sucks, it stings, but I'm very proud about the group that we had.”

In addition to Ionescu and Stewart, Jonquel Jones scored 14 points despite being in foul trouble most of the game and Leonie Fiebich finished with 11 points.

For Las Vegas, Kelsey Plum (17 points) and Tiffany Hayes (11) joined Wilson in scoring in double figures.

The Aces couldn't contend with a Liberty front line that dominated inside, outrebounding Las Vegas 48-27. Aces center Kiah Stokes missed her second game in a row because of a concussion.

Ionescu showed almost right away this wouldn't be a repeat of Game 3 for her. She averaged 24.5 points in the playoffs entering that game, but was held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting Friday night. She didn't score until the fourth quarter.

This time, Ionescu needed just 3:04 to get on the scoreboard when she nailed a corned 3-pointer. She finished the first quarter with 12 points, making all four shots that included three 3s.

The Liberty led by just two points entering the fourth quarter but then outscored Las Vegas 23-11 in the final period to pull away.

The Aces made just 32.8% shots for the game that included going 7 of 30 from the 3-point line.

“To hold Vegas to 24 points in the second half is pretty impressive,” Brondello said.

And now, unlike last year, it's the Liberty walking off the opposing floor with plenty to celebrate.

“It was really nice to see how we stuck together,” Ionescu said. “Obviously, we had a kind of rough game last game and it can go one of two ways. ... We came out here and understood we wanted to be our best and get this done because we deserve that.”

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

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson reacts while being fouled by New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) goes up for a basket over New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson goes up for a basket during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) grabs a rebound over Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson and guard Kelsey Plum during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon yells during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot (22) grabs a rebound over Las Vegas Aces guard Tiffany Hayes (15) during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) attempts to step over New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) shoots over New York Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray knocks the ball away from New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) reacts after a three-point- basket during the first half of a WNBA Semifinal basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)