Aces fall to second in Commissioner’s Cup standings with dud against Dallas
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
The Las Vegas Aces have mostly been a wagon on the road, but College Park has been a strange sticking point this season.
On Monday, the Aces suffered their first loss in the Commissioner’s Cup in-season tournament in rough fashion, falling to the Dallas Wings 96-66.
With this loss and the Minnesota Lynx defeating the Portland Fire, the Aces now fall to second in the Western Conference standings, and they will now need to defeat the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday and get some help in order to make it to the final game on June 30.
“Pretty much everywhere,” said Aces head coach Becky Hammon on what went wrong defensively against the Wings. “In the paint, pick and roll, at the three-point line, midrange, we didn’t defend anything tonight.”
Gone from the start
It did not take long for the Aces to run into trouble, falling behind early by nine by the end of the first quarter.
Unfortunately, it would be the closest the Aces would get to turning the tide, as the Wings went on a 21-2 run that effectively took Las Vegas out of the game. The Aces would not hit 20 points in any quarter past the first, allowing the Wings to control the game and never seem like they were in danger of falling behind.
“They just kind of kept shooting shots, and when you give really good teams open looks, they’re going to run 30 up on you,” said A’ja Wilson. “We just got to really tune in to the defensive end and then play out of it.”
The numbers, Mason
With this being the first time the Aces were held under 70 points since the season opener against the Mercury, the offensive numbers are a fitting eyesore.
Wilson would be the only starter to hit double-digit points with 18, while Jewell Loyd would lead the team overall with 21. Chelsea Gray would shockingly be held off the scoresheet after scoring 52 points in the previous two games. Loyd would also be the only player to hit any three-point shots, removing an advantage that had worked so well for the Aces in recent games.
Flight patterns
The same group that battered the Aces during their first visit to College Park were right back to their old tricks.
Jessica Shepard was an assist away from notching her second triple-double against the Aces, posting 15 points and rebounds on top of nine helpers. Arike Ogunbowale would pace the game with 22 points, while first overall pick Azzi Fudd would not be too far behind with 19. Even Paige Bueckers, who was relatively quiet on the scoresheet with 10 points, would do her damage as a facilitator with seven assists and five rebounds.
