Tag: Aces

Photo credit: Michael Blackshire/Las Vegas Review-Journal

By Shawn McCullough

The Connecticut Sun rallied in the second half to beat the Aces, 89-85, at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Aces played a solid first half, leading 56-47 at half time, but struggled in the 3^rd quarter.

“We kind of let our foot off the gas a little bit and that gave a good Connecticut team at home the energy,” said forward A’ja Wilson.

Wilson scored 17 points while center Liz Cambage added 18.

“The third quarter, we didn’t come out with the energy and they were a little more aggressive than we were,” said forward Dearica Hamby.

With the loss, the Aces fell to 19-10 on the season and remain in third place in the WNBA standings, 1.5 games behind the first place Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun.

The Aces will next play the Lynx on Sunday in Minnesota.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

• With the win, the Suns won the season series against the Aces, two games to one
• The Aces shot 45.1% from the field, but only went 2 for 13 from 3-point range
• Dearica Hamby registered a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds)

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Photo credit: Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces got 19 points each from A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage to win their 4^th straight game in an 84-79 overtime victory at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Wilson struggled with her shot for most of the game, but rose up in overtime by scoring nine of the 11 Aces points.

“The biggest thing that changed for me is I just let the game come to me,” said Wilson.  “I know I threw shots that I shouldn’t have thrown up but the fact that my teammates still trust me with a basketball is something that I take a lot of pride in.”

“A’ja was struggling the whole night and all of a sudden she plays great down the stretch. That’s who she is,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.

The Aces dominated the Mercury on the boards, 50-39, led by Cambage with 15 rebounds.

“I’m just trying to do my thing, I’m not in my head anymore,” said Cambage.  “Just going out there, trying not to mess up the plays and just focusing on getting rebounds and playing defense and letting the offense come from that.”

With the win, the Aces improved to 19-9 on the season and remain in third place in the WNBA standings, 1.5 games behind the first place Washington Mystics.

The Aces will next play the 2^nd place Sun on Friday in Connecticut.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

• Both teams struggled shooting from the field – Aces 36.9%, Mercury 37.3%.
• There were 15 lead changes in the game.
• Guard Jackie Young finished the game with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Photo credit: Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough

By Shawn McCullough

It’s a little tough to re-start a game one month later being down by 15 at half time and have any hope to win the game.

The Aces and the Washington Mystics played just the second half of a game suspended back on July 5^th due to an earthquake in Las Vegas, with the Mystics winning the game 99-70.

The game back in July was suspended at halftime with the Mystics leading 51-36 due to the effects in Las Vegas of a 7.1 earthquake centered in Ridgecrest, CA, 226 miles away.

“It’s a weird day, weird time,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “We had a sliver of a chance there in the third quarter if we made a couple shots and didn’t give them open three balls but once that closed, it was a little difficult to come back against a team like that.”

The Aces were led by guard Kelsey Plum who scored 17 point including three 3-pointers.

“Obviously we were down by 15 [starting the game at halftime], you have to make something happen and play something fast and get the ball up quickly,” said Plum.  “Luckily a couple fell, but unfortunately they made a lot of shots and our defense wasn’t great.  We gave them second opportunities and they hit a lot of three balls. They are a really good team and if you give them extra possessions, they’ll make you pay for it.”

A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage both played in the first half of the game back on July 5^th, but both sat out the second half tonight (Wilson – Ankle, Cambage – Rest).

With the loss, the Aces fell to 15-8 on the season and dropped to 3^rd in the WNBA standings.

The Aces will next play the Chicago Sky on Friday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

• The first half of the game back on July 5^th was played at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, while the second half was played tonight at T-Mobile Arena.
• The Mystics’ 99 points are the most allowed by the Aces in a regulation 40-minute game this season
• Washington outshot the Aces 54.8% to 38.9% from the field

Game Starters (on July 5^th):

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Photo credit: Los Angeles Sparks

By Shawn McCullough

The Los Angeles Sparks snapped the Aces three game winning streak with a 76-68 win at Staples Center.

The Aces led by six in the 3^rd quarter, but the Sparks went on a 13-2 run to take the lead for good.

“The second half we just turned the ball over again,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “We didn’t take care of the basketball, missed easy shots and lose again.”

Kayla McBride led the Aces with 19 points including three 3-pointers, while Dearica Hamby added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

“We need to take care of the ball,” said Hamby.  “Other than that, we just missed shots that we normally make.”

Liz Cambage scored in single digits (9) for the second straight game.

The Aces have still won eight of their last 10 games.

With the loss, the Aces fell to 14-7 on the season heading into their next game on Saturday in Dallas against the Wings.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

• The Aces scored just 8 points in the 4th quarter. 
• The Aces out-rebounded the Sparks 39-33.
• There were 13 lead changes in the game.
• Los Angeles connected on 42.3 percent of its field goal attempts, while Las Vegas made 35.2 percent of its shots.

Game Starters:

F – 5 Dearica Hamby
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

Photo credit: Shawn McCullough/Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

The Las Vegas Aces showed that when their stars are either not available or have an off night, the bench can win games also.

Dearica Hamby, filling in for injured forward A’ja Wilson, scored 18 points, while going 6 for 8 from the field and hitting two 3-pointers in an 86-54 win at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

“I know people always talk about the post all-star hangover, but we did a really good job of setting the tempo very early and played good defense,” said Hamby.

Tamera Young came off the bench and scored a season high 18 points.

“It’s always important to play well and help out,” said Tamera Young.  “We’re finishing out the second half of the season, making a run at playoffs, so the bench has to come in and do our part. I think we did a great job of that tonight.”

All-Star center Liz Cambage went just 1 for 12 from the field for six points.

“Basically what we did tonight is what we were supposed to do, win a basketball game,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “By two or by 32, it doesn’t really matter we just need to get the home win.”

The Aces (14-6) have now won eight of their last nine games heading into their next game in Los Angeles against the Sparks on Thursday at the Staples Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

• The Aces held the Wings to just 28.6% from the field.
• Liz Cambage’s 50 game streak of scoring in double digits came to an end (6 points).
• The Wings have now lost 16 straight games on the road.
• The Aces had 27 assists in the game, to Dallas’ 11.

Game Starters:

F – 5 Dearica Hamby
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

cover photo from sfgate.com Connecticut Sun’s Shekinna Stricklen reacts after winning the 3-point contest during the WNBA All-Star festivities Friday, July 26, 2019, in Las Vegas

galley photos: Shawn McCullough Sports Radio  Service

By Shawn McCullough

Aces G-F Kayla McBride got a second chance to improve on her second place performance in last year’s WNBA 3-point contest.   Unfortunately, Connecticut Sun’s G-F Shekinna Stricklen had something to say about that.

Stricklen beat McBride in the final round by one point, 23-22, to win the 3-point contest and $10,000 for her charity Room 29:11.

McBride led all shooters in the first round, also with 22 points, to advance to the finals against Stricklen, who scored 21 points.

McBride finished second also in last year’s 3-point contest in Minnesota to Chicago Sky’s G Allie Quigley.

First Round

• Kayla McBride (Las Vegas) – 22
• Shekinna Stricklen (Connecticut) – 21
• Allie Quigley (Chicago) – 19
• Kia Nurse (New York) – 14
• Erica Wheeler (Indiana) – 12
• Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles) – 8

Final

• Shekinna Stricklen (Connecticut) – 23
• Kayla McBride (Las Vegas) – 22

cover photo from wnba.com and Shawn McCullough http://www.sportsradioservice.com