LOS ANGELES -- The message from the Las Vegas Aces after a disappointing season opener against the Phoenix Mercury was simple: bounce back.
Very few teams have been able to show resilience and shake off disappointing performances. After the shocking 53-point loss to the Minnesota Lynx last season, the Aces fired off 17 straight victories to propel them to their third championship in four years. Head coach Becky Hammon and the players made it clear that that should not be the standard, but there is still something to say about a team that does not allow one bad game to bleed into the next.
That resilience came out strong for the defending champions in their first road matchup of the new season, soundly defeating the Los Angeles Sparks 105-78 on Sunday.
“It’s lovely,” said Aces guard Chelsea Gray in her postgame press conference.
“Because of the loss, we have an opportunity right there in front of us…we have to flip the page super quick. Even if we had a day in between, we would still be looking at it and thinking about it before we play again. So, while I don’t like back to backs, this one was kind of nice to flip the page and play again.”
Battle of wills
This game was far closer than the final score indicated, with the Sparks whittling down an early Aces lead to just one point at the end of the first half.
Hammon needed a response from her team to shut down the momentum, and they delivered in spades. The Aces got out to an early 12-4 run to start the third quarter, leading to them putting up their best offensive quarter with 33 points on the Sparks. The dominant effort over that ten minutes would prove to be the backbreaker, as the Aces quickly stifled any further attempts at a comeback.
“I got on the starters pretty good from the last game, and so I wanted them to set a better tone, which they did,” said Hammon as she discussed the first half from her team.
“They came out, set a great tone in that first quarter, and the rest of the group follows that tone, so whatever they do follows suit. The second quarter, I thought LA really just kind of ramped up their defense. They got into some blitzes and just were more disruptive. We didn’t handle it great and also we turned the ball over too much…we didn’t really have a day to work on that kind of stuff, so you’re just drawing it on the board for them at halftime and hopefully they go out and execute, which they did.”
Balanced attack
After a performance against the Mercury that saw too few Aces make contributions on the offensive side of the ball, Las Vegas would find a much more consistent flow to their game on the road.
The usual suspects of Jackie Young (20 points, nine assists), A’ja Wilson (19 points) and Gray (16 points, five assists, 4-5 three-point shots) did their damage, but it was Chennedy Carter that paced the Aces with 22 points. The guard has found a rapport with her new team quickly, finding ways to get open and work her way towards good looks repeatedly. The Aces even found ways to work in NaLyssa Smith (11 points) and Stephanie Talbot (eight points), allowing the team to take the pressure off their top stars and allow everyone to play to their strengths.
“Points. Lots of points,” said Hammon about Carter’s performance off the bench.
“She’s only been here about two minutes, so she’s still learning our system. She was great tonight on both sides of the ball. I thought she brought a lot of energy.”
Clamps down
While Kelsey Plum and Nneka Ogwumike willed the Sparks with 27 and 19 points, respectively, the Aces overall did a better job of either shutting the opposition down or forcing them into low-percentage chances.
The Aces would frustrate the Sparks due to forcing them into empty possessions with 11 steals (Talbot lead the Aces with three steals, while Carter and Brianna Turner each had two), as well as 10 blocks (Wilson, Smith and Turner had two apiece). The Sparks did not get any points from their bench until late in the third quarter, and all but three (Plum, Ogwumike, Dearica Hamby) were held to single digits. By the end of the game, the Aces limited the Sparks to a 37 percent field goal percentage and 29 percent from the three-point line; Las Vegas had 62 and 35 percent in both categories, respectively.
“They were good on that end. I was very happy,” said Hammon, who made her stance on team defense being an emphasis throughout training camp. “Holding that team in the teens three out of four quarters is hard to do. They are an explosive team offensively, but I was very pleased with our lock-in factor. They did a lot right tonight.”
The Aces will now get a chance for some rest before tackling an east coast road trip, with two straight games against the Connecticut Sun beginning on Wednesday in their final trip to New England.