Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service
By Shawn McCullough
The WNBA made its debut in Las Vegas as the first year Aces defeated the Chinese National Team 98-63 in preseason play at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Sunday.
The first overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft, A’ja Wilson, led the Ace in scoring with 20 points and added seven rebounds while Nia Coffey added 15 points.
“I was nervous,” Wilson said of her first professional game. “But once I got out there and I kind of saw my teammates getting hyped, it kind of really helped me out in that situation.”
“We know she’s going to do well,” said guard and Las Vegas native Sequoia Holmes of Wilson. “I personally think that she is going to be better as a pro than as a college player because teams are not going to be able to sit in the paint or double her”
The Aces trailed 28-27 with 5:55 left in the second quarter, but went on a 20-3 run to break open the game.
“It was because of our defensive pressure,” head coach Bill Laimbeer said of the 20-3 run. “We started running some fresh legs and really got after their guards. We want to be a much better team than San Antonio was last year and they really got after it and got some turnovers.”
Before coming to the Aces, Laimbeer coached the New York Liberty from 2013 to 2017 and the Detroit Shock from 2002 to 2009.
Prior to relocating to Las Vegas this season, the Aces were the San Antonio Stars from 2002 to 2017. The team struggled the last three seasons with a combined 23-79 record.
The Aces will play their home games this season at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and will play their first regular season home game on Sunday, May 27th against the Seattle Storm.
Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com
Game Notes: The Chinese National Team will also play a preseason game against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 12th.
2,091 fans were in attendance, despite the Vegas Golden Knights playing Game 6 of the NHL Playoffs against the Sharks in San Jose at the same time.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval was in attendance, sporting a UNLV shirt.
Game Starters:
C – 22 A’j Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
F – 3 Kelsey Bone
G – 12 Nia Coffey
G – 51 Sydney Colson
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