The New York Liberty punched their ticket to the WNBA Finals with a Game 4 semifinal win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. It's the first WNBA Finals appearance for the Liberty since 2002. They'll face the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-5 series that tips off Oct. 8.

Liberty star Jonquel Jones will appear in her third WNBA Finals in five seasons. Her previous two trips came with the Sun, with whom she lost the championship series in 2019 and 2022, the latter coming against the Aces. She's hoping for a different result this year.

“I think it's a blessing and the beauty of sports to be able to be with this team and be able to be going into a Finals and having the opportunity again,” Jones said, via Alexa Philippou.

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Jones, the 2021 WNBA MVP, requested a trade from the Sun last offseason and was dealt to the Liberty in January. She's arguably been New York's best player in the postseason, recording a double-double in all six playoff games. That's tied for the most in a single WNBA postseason.

Jones had 25 points and 15 rebounds in the Liberty's series-clinching win. Not only did it come against her former team, but it happened on the court she called home for seven seasons.

Jonquel Jones and the Liberty now look forward to a highly-anticipated clash with the Aces. The two teams have been the consensus top dogs in the WNBA all season so perhaps it's only right that they meet in the final series of the year.