Tag: Kayla McBride

Without Cambage, Aces stop the Stars in the final minutes, win 75-70

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

With Elizabeth Cambage out resting on what was supposed to be the occasion of her return to Dallas, the rookie duel–Jackie Young versus Arike Ogunbowale–took center stage at College Park Center on Saturday night.

Young scored a career-best 17 points and the visiting Aces held on for a 75-70 victory despite the absence of their stars, Cambage and A’ja Wilson. The win gave the Aces the season series, 3-0, after the two clubs engineered the blockbuster trade on the eve of the season that brought Cambage to Las Vegas.

Both teams struggled with their shooting, and the Aces got bogged down with turnovers, but that didn’t prevent a spirited finish with both Notre Dame rookies making big baskets down the stretch.

With Dallas trailing 73-70, and seeking a tying basket with 8 seconds remaining, Young intercepted Kaela Young’s pass and was fouled. She converted both free throws for the final margin of victory.

Ogunbowale made three 3-pointers in the final 2:36, but could get the Wings no closer than a one-point deficit. The No. 5 pick in the WNBA draft finished with a team-best 24 points.

“We can’t miss defensive assignments like we did tonight. We can’t miss free throws like we did tonight,” said Aces coach Bill Laimbeer. “All the above leads to losses, but we’re fortunate we got a win on the road.”

Young, the number one selection in the 2019 draft, finished with a team-best 17 points.

“I think the biggest thing is playing hard, just having the confidence to make plays,” Young said.

The Wings fell to 6-16 with the loss while the Aces improved to 15-7, percentage points behind the red-hot Washington Mystics, and a half-game off the pace of the first place Connecticut.

Aced That Test: Vegas holds on at Minnesota, their first win over the Lynx since 2014

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

Photo courtesy of Aaron Lavinsky/Minneapolis Star Tribune

By Morris Phillips

MINNEAPOLIS — The growth process of the Las Vegas Aces reached a significant milestone on Friday night.

Winning at the Target Center–in front of the WNBA’s best home crowd–and maintaining a lead throughout the fourth quarter when as many things went wrong as went right, said as much as beating the four-time champions for the first time since the 2014 playoffs.

Coach Bill Laimbeer wasn’t in the mood to organize a parade in celebration of the 85-77 win–part of a first-ever, four-game win streak for the Aces. But the veteran coach liked what he saw.

“We’re getting better. No question about that. We’re playing hard every game. We have some horses that we can go to. Now we have to get more pieces, and our bench players to be a little bit more consistent, and I think we’re making good progress,” Laimbeer said.

Kayla McBride led the Aces with 24 points, but McBride was just one of five Aces to score in double figures. While the Aces’ stars–McBride, Kelsey Plum and rookie, No. 1 overall pick A’ja Wilson–led the way, they had plenty of help. Front court reserve Carolyn Swords played 28 minutes off the bench, leading the committee that put the clamps on 6’6″ Sylvia Fowles. And Tamera Young converted consecutive baskets that gave the Aces their biggest lead, 72-64 with 8:58 remaining.

“To beat a great team like Minnesota you have to have everybody kind of involved,” McBride said. “It’s not just going to be one or two players that can beat them because they are so good and experienced. I thought it was a great win for us, especially on the road.”

After starting the season 1-7, the Stars have won nine of 14. The Aces are in the playoff hunt at 10-12 with their eyes focused on the Lynx (12-9), the team currently occupying the sixth and final playoff spot. In between the Lynx and Aces, seventh-place Dallas and eight-place Atlanta will have to be reckoned with as well. But on Friday, the Aces dealt with the Lynx, a team that had beaten them in 19 of the previous 20 meetings dating back to their days in San Antonio.

“I’ve been a part of those,” McBride said of the 19 losses. “Coach did mention that. The only win that we had I think was in the playoffs my rookie year we won like one of them in a three-game series.”

The Lynx fell to 6-4 at home, uncharacteristic for a team that won 103 of 119 at the Target Center between 2011 and 2017, the period of their four WNBA titles. Are they older and losing effectiveness? Sure, seven of the 12 players on their roster are over 30, including rookie Endy Miyem from France. But the Lynx fight the aging process vigorously, and they did so again on Friday. 36-year old Lindsay Whalen looked like fine wine in posting a team-best 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. And 34-year old Simone Augustus followed suit with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

But in key stretches, the Lynx offense appeared stagnant. Minnesota also failed to get Fowles untracked (2-of-9 shooting, 7 points), and got beat on the glass (Aces’ 42-36 rebounding advantage). But most significantly, leading scorer Maya Moore struggled, missing 10 of her 15 shot attempts.

“Vegas was good. For sure, they were really good on offense. They converted right at us (off) makes and misses. Their complete identity, they got to play to it.  On both sides of it. Their complete identity, and that’s disappointing,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve admitted.

The Aces host the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm PDT at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Aces beat Sparks 94-78 Friday night to knock LA out of first place

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
ACES Drive Lane
The Aces won by driving to the basket and taking mid-range shots Photo: @LVAces

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The 10th place Las Vegas Aces played like World Champions on Friday night as they shocked the league-leading Los Angeles Sparks with an offensive barrage that led the underdogs to an impressive 94-78 victory on their home court. The Las Vegas (6-11) win not only surprised the Sparks — it knocked Los Angeles out of first place in the WNBA into a tie for second place.

The Sparks (11-5) are a team that has feasted on their opponents at home in LA. They own a 7-1 record at home, but entered the contest on Friday night with a road record of 4-3. The Aces knew about that road record and wanted to take advantage of it.

There was only one lead change in the game. The Sparks jumped out to an early lead, but the Aces kept chipping away at that lead until they erased it. The Aces’ Kayla McBride hit a 3-point basket with 2:05 remaining in the first quarter to give Las Vegas a 16-15 lead. The Aces would never trail the Sparks again in the game.

A’ja Wilson led the scoring attack for the Aces. She put up 29 points shooting 50 percent (10-for-20) from the field and converting 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) opportunities from the free throw line. Wilson also grabbed nine rebounds, added four assists and made three steals in her 35-plus minutes of playing time.

Las Vegas point guard Kelsey Plum came up big for her team, scoring 14 points while hauling in nine rebounds to go with five assists. She did not commit a turnover while going a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Plum was also the Aces’ leading 3-point shooter who hit 2-of-3 attempts from downtown.

ACES Hamby
Dearica Hamby was very effective coming off the bench for the Aces Photo: @LVAces

Dearica Hamby was productive coming off the bench for Las Vegas. She scored 13 points, had four rebounds, dished out five assists, made two steals and blocked a shot in her 25 minutes on the floor.

Kayla McBride scored 12 points, recorded seven rebounds and had three assists. Tamara Young put up five points and had five rebounds.

The Aces shot 51.6 percent (33-for-64) for the game and hit 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from behind the arc. Las Vegas went to the free throw line 31 times and converted 23 of those chances.

Las Vegas also had to be proud of their defense in their big win. They held the Sparks to just 39.7 percent (29-for-73) shooting overall in the game. Los Angeles did excel at 3-point shooting by hitting 13-of-28 (46.4 percent) from long-range, but the Aces defense stopped the Los Angeles mid-range shooting game, which kept them from making a comeback.

The other area that really hurt the Sparks was their inability to get to the free-throw line. They had only 12 chances from the line in the game and made only seven of those opportunities. LA attempted just two free throws in the first half.

ACES LA
Graphic: @LA_Sparks

Chelsea Gray led the Sparks in scoring with 22 points. Essence Carson added 17 points and six rebounds. Odyssey Sims came off the bench to record 11 points for LA.

The Aces will have very little time to savor their victory as they will have to face the Sparks in Los Angeles this Sunday. Remember — the Sparks are 7-1 at home this season.

Tipoff on Sunday is scheduled for 1:00 PM PDT.