Aces win three straight, roll into FIBA World Cup break with momentum
Arion Armeniakos
Host · Writer
LAS VEGAS – The Aces are halfway there.
Coming off back-to-back home defeats to Minnesota and Atlanta on Aug. 15 and 18, respectively, it felt as though the defending WNBA champions would really need to win their remaining seven regular-season games — all against non-playoff opposition — in order to build some real momentum heading into the postseason.
Well, so far so good, as the Aces have stacked consecutive wins in the first three. Friday night at the Michelob ULTRA Arena, the Aces closed out their pre-FIBA World Cup schedule with a 93-73 victory against the Toronto Tempo.
It was Vegas’ second win over the expansion Tempo in the last five days — and third this term, securing the season sweep before A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Mai Yamamoto (Japan), and Stephanie Talbot (Australia) jet off to Germany to represent their countries.
“It’s always interesting [to see] how teams come together and when they come together [each season],” head coach Becky Hammon said, stressing that despite a lot of familiar faces, this Aces side is not the same as last year.
“But I can feel this team starting to settle in, and grab onto each other, and lock in, and buckle down in a really good way,” she added. “We’re going to continue trying to maintain that chemistry and focus in this little break.”
The Aces improved to 27-13 on the year — strengthening their grip on third place in the league standings — behind a combined 50 points from four-time MVP Wilson and ‘Special Agent 0’ Young.
Despite shooting quite poorly as a team (43% FG, 30% 3PT), Wilson dropped a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds on 10-for-17 from the field. She went 7-for-8 at the line and added three stocks (two blocks, one steal).
Wilson’s scoring tally took her to 962 points on the season, just 38 away from reaching the 1,000 mark for the second time in her career — and ever in league history.
Young added 23 points, four rebounds, and eight assists on 6-13 FG. She hit all four of her triples (4-9) in the first half. She attempted just one after the break.
Rounding off the big three, Gray chipped in 11 points, three rebounds, four assists, and five stocks (four steals, one block). Cheyenne Parker-Tyus had 9 points and seven rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
An experienced veteran, Parker-Tyus’ offensive prowess and ability to rebound figure to see her feature quite heavily in NaLyssa Smith’s absence (out for the season) when the Aces return to action on Sept. 17 at Seattle.
Hammon said: “Cheyenne is going to be a big part [of us] moving forward, with no [Smith]. We’re going to keep staying on her during this little break.
“The concussion (10 games out) kind of set her back, cardio-wise, but I want to continue to stretch her minutes — where she can play four or five in a row. … This break is a great time for her to catch up, because it’s going to take everybody.”
The Aces never looked back after putting their foot on the gas tonight. They led by as many as 26 and had a comfortable 56-39 advantage at halftime. Wilson (18) and Young (17) combined for 35 in the opening 20 minutes.
Keeping it clean helped the hosts find an edge. The Aces committed just seven turnovers. In contrast, the Tempo had 16 — 10 of which were stolen by Vegas.
“Our trust factor is growing, and I think you saw it tonight,” Wilson said. “The way we were having layers to our defense. … When we’re engaged [in] the game, it comes up in steals and deflections.
“We’re trusting one another. We know we have to man up [with Smith] going down, but she’s always going to be with us, no matter what, and we’re going to continue to play for her.”
