Aces show resiliency in win over Liberty

LAS VEGAS — They may not be at the top of the WNBA standings, but a matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty still has cachet.

It’s still a battle of two of the league’s best players — the Aces’ A’ja Wilson and the Libs’ Breanna Stewart. The supporting casts remain strong — Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Pauline Astier for New York, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd for Las Vegas.

So it was against that backdrop in front of a sellout crowd of 10,500 at Michelob Ultra Arena that these two teams squared off Thursday night, both looking to build some second-half season momentum.

The Aces, who a year ago at this time were floundering before embarking upon their history-making 16-game regular season winning streak, aren’t in as dire straits in 2026. They’re in the hunt for the top spot in the W, two games in back of Minnesota. They have their key pieces available, including forward NaLyssa Smith, who returned to the lineup Thursday after missing Tuesday’s win over Portland due to illness. But with a five-game road trip looming, Thursday’s battle with the Liberty took on added importance.

You didn’t need to remind Wilson of that. She shows up on a regular basis, a testimony to her greatness. And while it took her a bit to get untracked offensively, she was a force at the defensive end, blocking shots, cleaning up on the boards, picking off passes. She would finish with 33 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and a pair of blocks.

In fact, the entire Aces team defended well. As a result, it was a 104-99 win for Becky Hammon’s team, which is now 20-8 and has two straight wins as it hits the road Sunday in Chicago.

“I was happy with the way the ball was moving,” Hammon said. “We had 25 assists so that means we had a lot of quality looks.”

If you recall, defense was an issue with last year’s team and it eventually sorted things out run winning the WNBA title. At times,  defense remains an issue with this year’s group. But they were on point with their assignments for the most part Thursday, not letting Ionescu get going offensively while trying to make it as tough on Stewart as you can.

Stewart still got her points, She led the Liberty (16-13) with 26  points and 11 rebounds. Astier had 19 points and Ionescu would finish with 15. And while nobody wants to give up 99 points, Hammon points out the Aces did have some good stretches of defense where it got stops at critical times.

Call it resilience. Being able to weather runs by the other side and still play in front is critical to having success.

“Resiliency is part of any championship team,” Hammon said. “We talk about trying to be consistent in what we do, especially defensively.”

Gray, who had 16 points in support of Wilson and Young Thursday, said, this team’s identity is still evolving 28 games into the season. But she believes that they are resilient and tough.

“I like where we’re at,” Gray said. “We’re getting better in real time.”

For the Aces, who will face the Liberty in Brooklyn on Aug. 9 as the final leg of the five-game trip, they’ll try and build on their recent success.

“This team has gone through a lot of stuff,” Loyd said. “We’ve learned how to fight through the hard times and we know how to respond.”