Viva Las Vegas, the Aces are still alive.
The Liberty were unable to vanquish the two-time defending champions Friday night in their first chance to secure a return to the WNBA Finals.
With a chance to sweep the best-of-five league semis against the team that knocked them out in the championship round one year ago, the Liberty fell to league MVP A’ja Wilson and the Aces, 95-81, at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Sabrina Ionescu, who led the Liberty with 24 points in Game 2, missed her first five shots and finished with just four points on 1-for-7 shooting with five turnovers.
Breanna Stewart scored 19 points to lead the Liberty, who will get another chance to close out the series on the road Sunday afternoon, with a potential decisive Game 5 slated for Tuesday at Barclays Center, if necessary.
Wilson registered 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Aces, who have won 12 straight postseason home games, with Jackie Young netting 24 and Kelsey Plum adding 20.
