Author: psushawn

Aces making final playoff push, beat Liberty 85-72

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20180815 - A'ja Wilson 14

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

Playoffs were not even a thought when the Las Vegas Aces started the season 1-7 as one of the youngest teams in the WNBA.

Now, the Aces control their own destiny in making the WNBA playoffs after an 85-72 win over the New York Liberty at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Wednesday night.

“I told them (the Aces players) at the start of the season that at the end of the season they wanted to be the team that no one wanted to play,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer. “And I think we have accomplished that goal. I think that teams don’t want to play us because we have the capability of scoring a lot of points and move up and down the floor. We’re at the point now that we have a chance (for the playoffs).”

All five of the Aces starters scored in double digits led by forward A’ja Wilson, who dropped 19 points.

The Aces jumped out quickly in the game, building a 31-10 lead after the first quarter, but the Liberty scrapped back throughout the game.

“Players know that they have to play intense for 40 minutes or you let teams back in the game and that’s what happened today,” said Laimbeer. “But at the same time, a win is a win and on to the next game which we all know the importance of, so I think we’re excited and we put ourselves in the position to have a one game shootout.  It’s a big game for us so I guess we have to go win.”

With the Aces and the Dallas Wings tied for the final playoff spot with each having two games left in the regular season, the two teams play on Friday in Dallas in a must win game for the Aces.

“We want to take it one game at a time,” said guard Kayla McBride. “Obviously you know with Dallas we’re tied for 8th place with them right now, so it’s a win or go home game, like a single elimination game and we know that we are going to prepare as best we can, rest up, go to Dallas and go to work.”

If the Aces lose that game, the will be eliminated from playoff contention, due to Dallas holding the tiebreaker after beating the Aces three times in the season.

If the Aces win, Las Vegas will earn a playoff berth with either a win over Atlanta on Sunday or a Dallas loss to Seattle on Sunday.

The Aces final two regular season games:

8/17 – at Dallas
8/19 – vs Atlanta

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (19) in all 31 of her games so far this season.
  • The Aces shot 52.2% from the field while holding New York to 43.1%.
  • 7,159 Aces fans attended the game at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
  • NBA players Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors and Kyle O’Quinn of the Indiana Pacers were in attendance.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 8 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Aces beat Indiana 92-74, maintain playoff hopes

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20180811 - A'ja Wilson 07

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

The Las Vegas Aces have not quite given up on playoffs just yet.

The Aces came out laser focused and beat the Indiana Fever 92-74 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday night.

“I think we all knew we needed to get a win and we all came out with great energy,” said forward A’ja Wilson. “The crowd helped us of course, but we were definitely laser focused.”

Wilson scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds as point guard Kelsey Plum led the team with 20 points.

“I definitely think that our team was locked in,” said Plum. “We knew that this was a must win game and we knew that we needed to come to play, bring our A game and I was really proud with everyone that we did that.”

The win was big for the Aces’ playoff hopes after losing five straight coming out of the All-Star Break.

Despite the push for the playoffs, head coach Bill Laimbeer is preaching the “one game at a time” approach.

“They (the Aces players) are feeling a little bit of pressure because they were in a position to compete for a playoff spot and I just told them that they weren’t expected to have a chance at the playoffs so there’s no pressure,” said Laimbeer. “Just go out and play basketball and take it one game at a time and that’s what they did tonight”.

With the win, the Aces improved to 13-18 on the season and moved to within 1.5 games of the 8th place Dallas Wings for the final playoff spot.

The Aces have three remaining games in the regular season:

8/15 – vs New York
8/17 – at Dallas
8/19 – vs Atlanta

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (19) in all 31 games so far this season.
  • The Aces shot 46.2% from the field while holding Indiana to just 36.3%.
  • The Aces dominated the Fever on the boards, pulling down 48 rebounds against just 33 for Indiana.
  • 5,213 Aces fans attended the game at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
  • Retired 50-0 boxer Floyd Mayweather was in attendance.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 8 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Aces see playoff hopes slipping away in 89-73 loss to Lynx

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Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

Things looked promising at the All-Star break for the playoff chances of the Las Vegas Aces, but after five straight losses, playoffs are now very unlikely.

The Aces lost to the Minnesota Lynx 89-73 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

“We really can’t hang our head down about this loss,” said forward A’ja Wilson. “We really just have to keep pushing especially when trying to make a playoff push. You really don’t know what’s going to happen. So for us to just keep reaching for our playoff goals and see that light.”

Wilson scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down six rebounds while the team’s second leading scorer this season, Kayla McBride, was held to just seven points.

The 73 points scored by the Aces was the lowest point total since an 87-71 loss to the Sparks in Los Angeles on July 1st.

“You have to win games on the road and games at home, so we can’t use that as an excuse for our lapse of tonight,” said guard Tamera Young on their struggles after the All-Star break. “We just have to be more mature and communicate and bring the intensity every single game. It’s our profession and job, it’s what we have to do.”

With the loss, the Aces fell to 12-18 on the season and are 2.5 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot, currently held by Dallas, with just four games remaining in the regular season.

The remaining schedule is as follows:

8/11 – vs Indiana
8/15 – vs New York
8/17 – at Dallas
8/19 – vs Atlanta

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (18) for the 30th straight game.
  • The Aces were held to just 37.5% shooting from the field.
  • The Aces were out-rebounded 40-30.
  • 4,497 Aces fans attended the game at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 8 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Aces falter in the fourth quarter, fall to Dream 109-100

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Wilson

Photo credit: Las Vegas Aces

By Shawn McCullough

The Atlanta Dream scored eight of the last 10 points of the game to beat the Aces 109-100 at McCamish Pavilion.

The Aces led 84-80 after three quarters, but Atlanta outscored Las Vegas 29-16 in the fourth quarter.

Four Aces scored in double digits including a team high 20 points from point guard Kelsey Plum.

Kayla McBride dropped 19 points, while A’ja Wilson added 18.

With the loss, the Aces have now lost four straight games coming out of the All-Star Break and have now dropped 2.5 games out of a playoff spot with five games remaining in the regular season.

The Aces will next return home on Thursday night to face the Minnesota Lynx at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com 

Game Notes:

  • The Aces shot 48.6% from the field and 42.9% from three point range.
  • The Aces out rebounded the Dream 34-29.
  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (18) for the 28th straight game.
  • The Aces gave up a franchise high 109 points for the second straight game.
  • The WNBA announced that the game between the Aces and the Mystics in Washington D.C., that was canceled due to Las Vegas travel issue, will count as a forfeit and a loss for the Aces.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 8 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Aces drop their second straight game in 109-88 loss to Sun

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Photo credit: Las Vegas Aces

By Shawn McCullough

Head coach Bill Laimbeer knew that the All-Star Break layoff was a very important time for his team to remain focused on their playoff push, but what he feared is becoming reality.

The Aces have struggled losing their second straight game out of the break 109-88 to the Sun in Connecticut.

This is the second straight game that their opponent has scored over 100 points, a feat that no team has done against the Aces since May 31st when the Seattle Storm beat Las Vegas 101-74.

Rookie A’ja Wilson scored 24 points while point guard Kelsey Plum dropped 21, going 5 for 6 from three point range.

The Aces committed 14 turnovers while being out-rebounded 35-26.

With the loss, the Aces dropped to 12-15 on the season and are 1.5 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

The Aces will next play the Dream in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • The Aces took the lead early, but the Sun never trailed after 3:06 into the game.
  • A’ja Wilson scored in double figures (24) for the 27th straight game.
  • The 109 points given up by the Aces was the most in franchise history.
  • The WNBA announced that the 2019 All-Star Game will be held in Las Vegas.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 8 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Aces-Mystics game canceled in Washington, D.C.

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20180601 - A'ja Wilson 11

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

It was a very long 24+ hours for the Las Vegas Aces.

The team was scheduled to depart McCarren International Airport in Las Vegas for Washington, D.C. at 1:13 pm Pacific on Thursday, but the flight was delayed multiple times for a total of close to eight hours and later canceled.

The team connected in Dallas early in the morning and later arrived in Washington, D.C. at 3 pm Eastern, four hours before the scheduled tip-off at Capital One Arena.

The WNBA delayed the start of the game to 8 pm Eastern and later decided to cancel the game.

Since fans had already arrived at the arena for the game, the Mystics organized a free autograph session with the Mystics players, refunded all tickets purchased and offered complimentary tickets to a future Mystics game.

The Aces will next play in Connecticut on Sunday against the Sun.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Aces enter All-Star break with 88-74 win over Indiana

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20180722 - A'ja Wilson 06

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

As far as the Las Vegas Aces are concerned, this may be a bad time for the All-Star break.

The Aces beat the Indiana Fever 88-74 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday night and have now won six of their last seven.

Four players scored in double digit including A’ja Wilson, who scored 24 points and Kayla McBride, who added 16.

“It was a good team win,” said Wilson. “For us to just come out and get a win, it’s something special. Our bench production was great today, everyone came and there was no drop off and that’s what you need around this time.”

Center Carolyn Swords came off the bench and contributed with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“I think that’s always been kind of my mentality and just focusing on one thing at a time, one possession at a time,” said Swords. “Whether it’s a rebound coming my way or knowing that the player that I’m guarding is a good rebounder gives me something to focus on and just try to stay present with that.”

With the team’s recent success, the Aces are aware that it is critical to handle the All-Star break appropriately.

“The All-Star Break is usually a pretty dangerous turning point,” said Swords. “Sometimes people can overlook the game right before or right after. Some teams will come back right after the All-Star Break and really take off. We want to make sure that we keep our momentum, stay focused, take care of ourselves while we have a couple of days and then make sure that we really hit the ground running when we come back.”

A’Ja Wilson and Kayla McBride were voted to the WNBA All-Star game which will be played on Saturday in Minneapolis.

“It feels good, it’s a blessing,” said Wilson about being voted to the All-Star game in her first season.

“I’m excited to be able to represent Vegas,” said McBride. “The fan base has been so amazing, so to be able to go and represent them the first year with A’ja is really special to me.”

With the win, the Aces improved to 12-13 on the season and trail the Connecticut Sun by one game for the 8th spot in the WNBA standings, as the top eight teams in the league make the playoffs.

The Aces will next play the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday, August 1st at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 1 Tamera Young
C – 3 Kelsey Bone
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 10 Kelsey Plum