Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

There’s nothing better than coming home after playing five of the last six games on the road.

The Las Vegas Aces battled in a close game down to the end and pulled out an 88-78 win over the New York Liberty at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Friday night.

Las Vegas went on a 10-4 run with 2:31 remaining in regulation to secure the win.

“We won,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “But we didn’t play well.  We are getting better.  We would have lost this game six or seven games ago.”

“It’s always good to get a win at home,” said A’ja Wilson.  “It was tough.   There were times that we didn’t really come out with a lot of energy.”

Kayla McBride led the Aces with a season-high 27 points while Wilson scored 20 and pulled down 14 rebounds.

“I give Kayla McBride all the credit in the world for willing this victory for us,” said Laimbeer.  “She stood up and was the determining factor in this game.”

With the win, the Aces improved to 5-9 on the season.

“It’s definitely big for us,” said Wilson on the win. “Just the momentum going here at home will help us out.”

The Aces will next play three straight home games against three of the better teams in the WNBA: Minnesota, Dallas and Los Angeles.

“We have to continue to make a statement especially when we are at home,” said McBride. “We need to continue to have confidence and we are going to be really good.”

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

• A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (20) for the 14th straight game.
• The Aces held the Liberty to 37.5% shooting from the field.
• 5,478 Aces fans attended the game.
• The Vegas Golden Knights’ backup goaltender Malcolm Subban was in attendance
• Moriah Jefferson (knee) did not play due to injury.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 12 Nia Coffey
C – 19 JiSu Park
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum