Tag: WNBA

Aces win overtime classic over Seattle, 110-98

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Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (22) shoots over Seattle Storm center Tina Charles (31) during the first half in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball semifinal playoff series Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces moved to within one win of the WNBA Finals with a 110-98 overtime win over the Storm in Seattle.

“It was a hell of a game,” said Aces head coach Becky Hammon. “I don’t know if I have ever been a part of something like that.  Big shots from both sides.”

The Storm led by four points, 89-85, with 11.3 seconds remaining in the game when the madness began.

“We were up four points with not a lot of time left and that is where we lost the game,” said Storm guard Sue Bird.

Off the inbound, Riquna Williams drained a three pointer to get the Aces to within one point with 10.2 seconds remaining.

“I was just trying to let my offense come to me,” said Williams.

After two missed free throws by Seattle’s Tina Charles, Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson gave the Aces the lead, 90-89, with 2.9 seconds left.

“We live for these moments,” said Wilson. “We worked hard to get to where we are. We were locked in.”

Wilson scored 34 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Soon after, Bird hit a three-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining to give the Storm a two point lead, but Aces guard Jackie Young sent the game into overtime at the buzzer.

“That’s what playoff basketball is all about,” said Aces guard Chelsea Gray.

Gray scored 29 points and dished out 12 assists.

In overtime, the Aces dominated, outscoring the Storm 18-6 in the extra period.

“It was really frustrating,” said Storm forward Breanna Stewart. “We had the game and we gave it to them.”

With the win, the Aces now lead the best of five series, two games to one.

The Aces and the Storm will play game four in Seattle on Tuesday.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot 52.4% from the field.
Las Vegas went 12 for 28 from three-point range.
Riquna Williams scored 14 points, the only points coming from the bench.
A’ja Wilson played all 45 minutes of the game.

Game Starters:

C – 41 Kia Stokes
F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

None.

Aces even series with win over Storm, 78-73

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Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (22) during a WNBA game on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo Credit: Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough)

By Shawn McCullough

LAS VEGAS–After falling at home in game one on Sunday, the Aces evened the best of five series against the Storm with a 78-73 win at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“We dug in and did what we had to do,” said Aces head coach Becky Hammon. “This pretty much was a must win for us.”

“Physically hard-fought game, but obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted,” said Storm forward Breanna Stewart. “We had a lot of opportunities.”

Aces forward A’ja Wilson scored a career playoff high 33 points while also pulling down 13 rebounds.

“I was really locked in for my team,” said Wilson. “I needed to be more present and in the moment for my team.”

“Mashing up against A’ja, you have to respect everything that she does,” said Stewart. “It’s competitive.  You want people to go at you so you can go at them.”

Stewart led the Storm with 32 points, while center Tina Charles added 17.

“Everyone loves a good matchup [Wilson vs Stewart],” said Wilson. ”It’s good that we are starting to grow something like that.”

Chelsea Gray scored 19 points, while fellow guard Kelsey Plum added 18.

Despite the loss, the Storm were able to hold the highest scoring offense [Aces] in the WNBA to under 80 points for a second straight game.

“Super proud of our effort. Holding Vegas to under 80 is a feat,” said Storm head coach Noelle Quinn. “We just have to clean up some things offensively.”

The Aces and the Storm will play game three of the best of five series on Sunday in Seattle.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot 42.2% from the field.
Las Vegas went just 6 for 18 from three-point range.
70 of the 78 Aces points were scored by either Wilson, Plum or Gray.

Game Starters:

C – 41 Kia Stokes
F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

Dearica Hamby, out, right knee bone contusion

Seattle Storm Squeak By Las Vegas 76-73

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The Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) takes a shot against the Seattle Storm center Ezi Magbegor (13) in the WNBA semifinal playoff game in Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on Sun Aug 28, 2022 (AP News photo)

Seattle Storm Squeak By Las Vegas 76-73

By Barbara Mason

Going into this WNBA semifinal, the Las Vegas Aces were playing some excellent basketball. Their opponent the Seattle Storm had beaten Las Vegas on June 29 but since then Las Vegas has dominated. This will be a battle that everyone expected to see between the two top teams in the Western Conference.

Breanna Steward and the Storm came out strong in the first half. They overwhelmed the Aces in the first quarter 26-15. The Aces Chelsea Gray kept the game manageable, Las Vegas winning the second quarter 21-17. At the half the Storm held a 43-36 lead.

After the third quarter the Aces had begun to make a move winning the quarter 21-17 but still trailing 60-57 after three. Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young all were in double digits after three and Las Vegas would have to make a real push in the fourth quarter.

With six minutes left in the game, the Aces took their first lead 65-64. The Storm got a bit sloppy in the final quarter with turnovers but refused to take their foot off the pedal. With 34 seconds left in the game the Storm had taken a three point lead. The Aces had made some costly mistakes in the final minutes that really hurt them. The final was 76-73 in favor of the Storm in game one of this series.

Jewell Loyd finished with 26 points and Breanna Steward had 24 for an outstanding offensive effort. Tina Charles had 18 rebounds and 13 points in this hard fought game.

The Aces Chelsea Gray had 21 points followed by Kelsey Plum with 20. Las Vegas came up just short losing a tough one at home.

Game two will be on Wednesday night with tipoff at 7:00 PM with the Storm leading 1-0.

Aces drop a record 23 three-pointers, beat Mercury, 117-80

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Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) during a WNBA game on Saturday, August 20, 2022 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo Credit: Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough)

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces had no trouble closing out the best of three game series against Phoenix with a 117-80 win over the Mercury at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“Happy to put a team away,” said Aces head coach Becky Hammon. “Tonight, the offense was special, they played the right way and the ball went in.”

The Aces hit a WNBA record 23 three-point shots, blowing away the previous record of 18 set in the regular season by the Aces.

“It all looks good when the ball goes in the hole,” said Hammon. “Nice to see the ball go through the hoop and get a swagger going into the next round.”

“It was just like a barrage,” said Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard. “I don’t know if I have ever seen that.”

Aces guard Chelsea Gray was on fire, scoring 27 points, while going 7 for 8 from three-point range.

“It was a great sight,” said Gray. “It felt good and it felt fun.”

Kelsey Plum dropped 22 points, while A’ja Wilson added 17.

“We were just taking what the defense gave us,” said Wilson.

The season came to an end for the Mercury, who have had to endure countless obstacles throughout the season.

“There were a lot of challenges, but I am really proud of our team,” said Nygaard. “They have great fight, they have great grit, they are tough.”

The Aces will next play in the semi-finals starting Sunday, August 28 at home against either the Seattle Storm or the Washington Mystics.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot 64.1% from the field.
Las Vegas got eight three-pointers off the bench.
The NBA record in a single game was 29 by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020.

Game Starters:

C – 41 Kia Stokes
F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

Dearica Hamby, out, right knee bone contusion

Aces take game one of best of three playoff series against Phoenix, 79-63

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Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) during a WNBA playoff game on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo Credit: Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough)

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces struck first in the first round of the WNBA playoffs with a 79-63 win over the Phoenix Mercury at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“That was one hard fought game,” said Aces head coach Becky Hammon. “We were able to break away there in the 4th quarter.”

The Aces led 55-51 with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter when Mercury center Megan Gustafson committed a flagrant 1 foul on Aces guard Chelsea Gray.

“I was just coming to help side and I wanted to tie up the ball,” said Gustafson.

Gray hit both free throws and proceeded to break the game open, scoring seven straight points for the Aces.

“I got a little upset,” said Gray. “I was able to knock it down in transition.”

Gray scored 17 points, including going 3 for 5 from three-point range.

“Don’t foul Chelsea Gray like that,” said Aces guard Kelsey Plum. “She’s just a dog and flipped the switch.”

Plum led the Aces with 22 points, while A’ja Wilson scored eight points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

The Mercury lost forward Shay Peddy to a leg injury, while also playing without Skylar Diggins-Smith (personal reasons) and Diana Taurasi (quadriceps).

“They [Phoenix] were really good,” said Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard. “The first three quarters, we were making things difficult. If more shots fell for us, it would have been a different story.”

Mercury guard Diamond DeShields led Phoenix with 18 points.

The Aces and the Mercury will play the second game of the three-game series on Saturday at Michelob Ultra Arena.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot just 40.6% from the field.
Las Vegas center Kia Stokes led the Aces with 13 rebounds.
The Aces outscored the Mercury, 24-12, after Gustafson’s flagrant foul on Gray.

Game Starters:

C – 41 Kia Stokes
F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

Dearica Hamby, out, right knee bone contusion

Aces Light It Up In the Fourth Quarter Beating the Storm 109-100

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The score says it all as the Las Vegas Aces advance to the first round of the playoffs on Wed Aug 17, 2022 (@LVAces photo)

Aces Light It Up In the Fourth Quarter Beating the Storm 109-100

By Barbara Mason

Two powerhouse teams met Sunday when the Las Vegas Aces (26-10) took on the Seattle Storm (22-14) at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The Aces are in first place in the Western Conference and are fighting for that first seed. The Storm are nipping at their heels in second place and this game will be another battle between the two teams.

The Arena in Las Vegas celebrated their highest attendance with 10,015 fans showing the leaps and bounds that women’ basketball has taken in recent years.

The first quarter was neck in neck with the Aces winning it by the slim margin of 29-26. At the half the Storm led by a single point 51-50 with a long way to go in this game.

The Aces took a two points lead at the end of the third quarter and this game would go down to the wire.

Chelsea Gray made all the difference in this game especially in the fourth quarter sinking critical free throws in the final minutes. The final was 109-100. Chelsea finished with 33 points followed by A’Ja Wilson with 25 points and ten rebounds. This was Gray’s career high. Kelsey Plum had 23 points.

The Storm had a great showing and gave the Aces all they could handle but just came up short. Jewell Loyd finished with 38 points.

All eyes will be on the Eastern Conference leader, the Chicago Sky who had the same record as the Aces going into their game against the Phoenix Mercury today. That game was just starting at the time of this post.

In this last game of the season for the WNBA the Aces now head into round one of the playoffs and await their opponent that is still to be determined.

Aces move into first place tie with 89-78 win over Chicago

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Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) during a WNBA game on Thursday, August 11, 2022 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo Credit: Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough)

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces won their third straight game with an 89-78 win over the Chicago Sky at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“Obviously, a quality win,” said head coach Becky Hammon. “We saw some resiliency today.”

“Overall, a great team performance,” said guard Kelsey Plum.  “The defense was locked in. To be as locked in as we did, that was pretty cool.”

The Aces were led by Plum with 25 points including going 4 for 5 from three-point range.

“She [Plum] was very good,” said Hammon. “Her ability to get into the paint is becoming next level.”

Guard Jackie Young scored 22 points, while A’ja Wilson and Riquna Williams each scored 12.

“I just tried to be aggressive,” said Young. “I got the ball and I was just trying to make the right plays and reads.”

The Aces now sit atop the WNBA standings with Chicago at 25-10 with one game remaining in the regular season.  With a win over the Seattle Storm on Sunday, the Aces would clinch the number one seed in the WNBA playoffs.

“No one wants to be first in the regular season,” said Hammon. “That isn’t our goal.  We have much bigger goals.”

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot 46.3% from the field.
Las Vegas was out-rebounded by the Sky, 35-29.
The Aces forced 17 Sky turnovers.

Game Starters:

C – 41 Kia Stokes
F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

Dearica Hamby, out, right knee bone contusion

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Brittney Griner and Bad Diplomacy

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Brittney Griner is escorted from the courtroom in Khimki Russia on Thu Aug 4, 2022. The Kremlin says that all talks about a prisoner exchange must be done in secret. (AP News file photo)

Brittney Griner and Bad Diplomacy

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

She traveled to Russia to play professional basketball because as a big star of the WNBA Phoenix Mercury, Brittney Griner needed to supplement her income. The average WNBA salary is under $200,000 per season and there are only 14 players as of this last season that was making $228,094, those were Diana Taurasi, Jewell Loyd, and Breanna Stewart (According to Yahoo finance).

Brittney Griner signed a 3-year / $664,544 contract with the Phoenix Mercury, including an annual average salary of $221,515. In 2022, Griner will earn a base salary of $227,900, while carrying a cap hit of $227,900.

It’s understandable she traveled to Russia to play there because the WNBA (unlike the NBA) doesn’t have a great impact domestically and internationally, with low attendance and low interest as well as media coverage.

The NBA is the “mother of all basketball leagues” as they get huge revenues in the US and internationally, especially in China. Their players’ salaries are in the millions of dollars. For American women, it is totally the opposite.

This July, American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted of deliberately smuggling drugs into Russia and sentenced to nine years of jail time in a case that has raised concerns she is being used as a political pawn in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

This is what Russia has done for decades, from the days they were under total communist control and called the Soviet Union, to this day under Vladimir Putin.

99.9% of the time these hostage crises are negotiated in secret between the two governments involved and everybody learns about it after the release of the hostage(s) Not this time, the United States made it public to the whole world, that they would release a Russia arms trafficker who is also known as “The Merchant of Death”.

In return, Russia would set free Griner and a US Marine incarcerated accused of spying. Many experts in hostage situations point to the fact that the US played directly into the hands of Putin’s Russia’s government, who are using her as a pawn in the middle of a war they unleashed on Ukraine.

To complicate the matter, the US has been sending weapons and billions of dollars in support of Ukraine against Russia. In other words, Russia and the USA are not the best of “friends” at this time.

Because Russia’s Putin specialized in these types of international issues (he was a KGB agent during the Soviet Union days) he will continue to play the game of leverage as he will ask for others in return if they make a deal.

Unfortunately that Brittany Griner has found herself in the middle of this international conflict, but in the first place she should have been smart enough not to take any type of drugs to Russia. It is easy to find out about the laws of another country when you travel abroad.

That is what the US State Department is for. You can easily find information about traveling to other countries and what you need to do, like their laws.

Professional athletes tend to be arrogant sometimes and do not bother to check on those things when they travel abroad by themselves.

If they travel with a team, that probably would not have happened, because professional teams have cleared all the traveling in advance and know who is traveling, and have control of their athletes, because they are their employees.

Everything has been very quiet, no news, in this case, is bad news for Brittney Griner, because all the reports by Amnesty International shows that Russia is one of those countries where foreign prisoners in jail for breaking their laws are treated and kept in not the best of conditions.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Aces win second straight, beat Dream, 97-90

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Las Vega Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) runs for a layup while Atlanta Dream forward Cheyenne Parker, left, guard Tiffany Hayes, second from left, and guard Maya Caldwell, right, run to guard her during the second half of a WNBA basketball game at Michelob Ultra Arena on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review Journal)

By Shawn McCullough

Four Aces players scored 20 or more points in a 97-90 win over the Atlanta Dream at Michelob Ultra Arena.

A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray added 22.

Forward Jackie Young dropped 20.

Las Vegas was deadly from three-point range, going 14 for 27 from long distance.

The Aces led at halftime, 47-44, but the Dream rallied in the third quarter to take a 65-62 lead going into the fourth quarter.

With a strong fourth quarter, the Aces put the game away, outscoring Atlanta 35-25 in the final quarter.

With the win, the Aces improved to 24-10 on the season and pulled to within one game of the WNBA leading Chicago Sky.

The Aces will play their final two games of the regular season at home, starting with a huge battle on Thursday against the Sky and then the finale on Sunday against the Seattle Storm.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot 47.8% from the field.
Las Vegas out-rebounded the Dream, 32-29.
The Aces got just nine points off the bench.

Game Starters:

C – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 5 Dearica Hamby
F – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

None

Headline Sports podcast with Michael Roberson: WNBA players need to travel by charter; Discussion gets serious after Sparks are stranded at DC Airport

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Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks said after being stranded overnight at the DC Airport that it was the first time in her 11 year career that she had to stay the night in an airport. Ogwumike who is president of the WNBA union is pushing for charter flights for WNBA teams (CNN file photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks and who just so happens to be the president of the WNBA players association got the experience of sleeping at the airport. The Sparks plan was stuck in Washington DC after the flight that was scheduled was canceled at 1 AM was rescheduled to 9AM. This is one example of what the WNBA players versus the NBA players what they have to go through.

#2 In retrospect what the WNBA players go through is almost like these players are like pioneers in the modern age of professional sports.

#3 What’s worse in spite of the desperate need for chartering teams the New York Liberty were fined $500,000 for taking chartered flights in the second half of last year.

#4 Also to add insult upon injury Liberty owner Joe Tsai actually found an easier way for WNBA teams to travel by charter and get compensated but the WNBA denied any idea like that existed.

#5 The Washington Mystic’s Natasha Cloud said that their still flying in comfort even with the mask mandate lifted on commercial flights while being surrounded by people not wearing masks.

Join Michael for Headline Sports Wednesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com