Aces: Explosive Bench and Zone Defense Defeat Mercury in WNBA Finals

Las Vegas Aces Dominate Game One of the WNBA Finals

Prior to the first game of the WNBA finals, Aces coach Becky Hammon praised her reserve team, calling it “the best overall bench we’ve had since I’ve been here.” Her words proved prophetic. Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd led the Aces to a victory with a score of 89-86 over the Phoenix Mercury. The backcourt duo, with Evans scoring 21 points and Loyd 18, became the fifth pair in WNBA Finals history to score at least 15 points off the bench in the same game.

We have weapons. We want to use them all because we are more difficult to defend that way. It was a great moment for our bench to shine and have a great game… Our bench was huge.

Becky Hammon

Each contribution was crucial for the Aces, who led for only 5 minutes and 18 seconds during the entire game, mainly in the last quarter. Phoenix, driven by an explosive start from Kahleah Copper (19 points in the first half), controlled the game at the beginning and led by up to nine points.

Las Vegas reacted to regain the lead, but Alyssa Thomas had the opportunity to put the Mercury ahead from the free throw line with 24.6 seconds remaining. Thomas missed both shots, the first time in WNBA history that a player has missed two potentially tying free throws in the final two minutes of a playoff game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Despite being down by three points, Phoenix had another chance to tie the score with 13.5 seconds remaining, but the Aces managed a final stop to secure the victory. The Aces became the second team in WNBA Finals history to win a game with two of their top three scorers coming off the bench. Even the league MVP, A’ja Wilson, although she shot 7 of 16 from the field, recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 0 turnovers, achieving the first 20-10-5-0 stat line in WNBA Finals history. Since the Aces’ irregular start to the season with a 12-13 record, Hammon has emphasized that everyone would have to do their part to win the championship. That approach was demonstrated on Friday night, when two of the new additions that the Aces signed in the offseason stepped up.

We have options… Dana is a scorer. It’s a problem.

Becky Hammon

Evans has been encouraged by Hammon to be more aggressive, and added: “She has been telling me to shoot more threes.” That was evident on Friday, as Evans became the third substitute player to lead or co-lead a Finals game in scoring. Her five three-pointers tied Riquna Williams (2019) for the most off the bench in a WNBA Finals game.

Dana is our battery. She makes us play at a different pace. I told her that we go as she goes, and that’s a fast pace, but we will always try to keep up with her, because we know she’s very difficult to stop in this league.

A’ja Wilson

Hammon is also concerned about her team’s defense, and success on that end of the court was where the Aces really began to dictate the game. Las Vegas’ late surge came largely after they switched to a zone defense midway through the third quarter, with the Aces limiting the Mercury to 1-of-8 shooting in the quarter. Phoenix also lost the turnover battle 14-7, leading to 20 points for the Aces. The Mercury finds itself once again losing 1-0 in a series, joining the 2002 New York Liberty as the only teams to lose three Game 1s in a single postseason. However, they have a 5-0 record in all other games. Phoenix hopes that bodes well for the rest of the Finals.

The mindset was to go back to the drawing board. We had the utmost confidence in our locker room and in our coaches to make the adjustments. So now it’s the same.

Kahleah Copper