What looked like a close battle on the Las Vegas Strip turned into a bloodbath the second the tactics shifted.
On Sunday, the Las Vegas Aces refused to relent the moment they felt the court tilt in their direction, comfortably defeating the Golden State Valkyries 92-73.
With difficult matchups against the New York Liberty and Dallas Wings on the docket to close out the homestand, the Aces took the opportunity to get their defense where they wanted it to be, holding the Valkyries to less than 20 points in all but the fourth quarter.
“They were good on the defensive end. Locked in from the jump,” said Hammon during her postgame presser. “When we play defense, we’re just a different animal. We’re a different team.”
Going full tilt
After losing an early lead to the Valkyries to start the second period, Hammon called her first timeout to reset her team and readjust the gameplan.
What proceeded to happen afterwards turned what was looking like a close game into a complete momentum shift. The Aces would effectively erase a 7-0 Golden State run with a 20-2 run of their own for the last six and a half minutes of the first half. The sudden surge would shift the game entirely in the Aces’ favor, as the Valkyries would never recover from the onslaught.
“I just talked to them about some slippage on the defensive end,” Hammon responded when asked about what was relayed during the timeout.
“It was just a timeout to remind them about how we’re supposed to be doing things, get them refocused on that end then let them go out and execute it, which they did. Sometimes, those timeouts are just attention getters and reminders for the group.”
From the start
The differences between the numbers of the starting lineups paints a stark contrast between the two teams.
A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray would finish shy of double-doubles, with the former picking up 19 points and nine rebounds and the latter recording 15 points and nine assists. Jackie Young would pace all scorers with 21 points, while NaLyssa Smith would add 14 of her own. The Valkyries could not keep up, with every starter being outscored by Jewell Loyd (14 points); Veronica Burton and Kayla Thornton, in particular, were held to just four points total.
“We were making good decisions in the half court and the ball was popping,” said Gray. “Sometimes, we’re passing up open shots, but it’s the name of the game. I’d rather that than not passing enough.”
Math wizards
To paraphrase Scott Steiner, the numbers do not lie, and they spelled disaster for the Valkyries.
Two stats tell the story of the Aces in a dominant effort: assists and three-point shooting. The Aces were the much more connected team on offense, putting up 19 assists compared to eight for the Valkyries; for context, Gray outperformed Golden State by herself with nine. From beyond the arc, the Aces were the much more efficient team, with the Valkyries going a shocking 5-for-30, while the Aces finished 11-for-24.
“I think we’re just playing off of each other really well,” said Gray about limiting the Valkyries’ damage from deep. “They didn’t have a lot of opportunities to get wide open to catch and shoot threes. Our back side was ready to go if anything broke down, so really proud of our defensive effort today.”