LAS VEGAS - With time winding down in the third quarter, Chelsea Gray whipped a pass to Jewell Loyd in the left corner.
Nothing but net.
Loyd should never be left open in that specific corner, where she'll victimize defenders as if she were back at Drake Park in Lincolnwood, Illinois.
The 11-year veteran treated Michelob Ultra Arena like her personal playground Sunday, finishing with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting from 3-point range in the Aces' 106-87 home win over the Dallas Wings.
Loyd brings an eight-game double-digit scoring streak into Tuesday's game against Atlanta. She's shot better than 40% from long range six times in seven games.
More importantly, Loyd's trademark smile has become much more prevalent during Las Vegas' 9-1 win streak, which happens to coincide with Loyd's decision to come off the bench.
It's an experiment that's proved to be a brilliant move by the seasoned veteran, who said it's nothing different from her AAU days, when she came off the bench as one of the youngest on the team who simply wanted to contribute and help her team.
It's the mindset, she added, that's never wavered.
"It just felt like it was the right decision," Loyd said. "I'm not afraid to try things that are new and different. Whether they work or not, you're gonna learn either way from it.
"I know Becky was kind of reluctant at first, and I think for her, she didn't want to (lack) my confidence. But it wasn't the confidence thing, just whatever its gonna help. So we kind of went back and forth about it, and she finally let it ride. And for whatever reason, it worked."
Worked in a sense that not only has Loyd's shooting efficiency and scoring average improved dramatically, the team has gone from averaging 80.4 points per game on 41.5% shooting, to 88.1 ppg. behind a 44.3% clip.
Knowing the team had built-in chemistry, Loyd had no trouble removing herself from the starting five, making way for fourth-year pro Kierstan Bell, someone who's won two titles with the Aces' big three of A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young.
"You play this game long enough, you understand the ups and downs, the flow, rhythm, travel, body - whatever that is - but you know it doesn't matter, you gotta keep shooting," she said. "My shooting coach is like, 'You gotta have the confidence to miss. You have the confidence to miss, you obviously have confidence to make it.' So you gotta put it up."
A VOICE THAT CARRIES
Loyd isn't a vocal person, never has been.
It's the Drake Park legend with a 5-in-the-morning, first-one-in, last-one-out work ethic who leads by example, rather than wasting time with nonsensical rhetoric.
That said..
"Her voice is like, it's one of those voices where when she speaks, you're like, 'Oh, you gotta start locking in,'" Wilson said. "For us as a team, we love rallying around her because we know what she can give to us, because we see it off court. She's very giving, she's very caring. We have the joy of just having her in the locker room. It's really just a cool joy to be around."
It's the joy that Loyd told former teammate Sue Bird she was looking for, when the two sat down for the Bird's Eye View podcast in May and discussed the move from Seattle to Las Vegas.
She just wanted her happy back, the joy that helped her become a two-time WNBA champion, the 2015 Rookie of the Year and a six-time All-Star.
"I'm just at peace with everything," Loyd told Bird.
The kid from Lincolnwood who visualizes her roles while getting into a zone with Justin Bieber crooning in her earbuds before attempting her first warmup jumper has learned that timing is as much of a role as being a scorer. There's a time to screen, a time to facilitate, and there's a time to score. She's come to understand that how the Aces play conceptually as a team allows each one to be the best version of themselves.
Thus, it appears that the Gold Mamba, whom every team has feared over the years, has rekindled her joy.
"It seems like that," Loyd said. "A lot of these corner 3s kind of remind me of shooting at Drake. I shot a lot of corner 3s there and had the fun of just learning every single day. Some days you had really good hooping days at the park, sometimes you went home crying.
"So you kind of understand that. It's a journey all around. You're just very happy to still play this game, and being healthy doing it.