Las Vegas Aces find themselves in uncharted territory following their recent defeat. The 95-68 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday marked the third-largest loss for the Aces (4-3) in the Becky Hammon era. It was also their second loss by 20 points this season, the first time they’ve had more than one in a season under Hammon’s direction.
The Valkyries set the pace from the start, mainly through their defense. They forced A’ja Wilson to commit three turnovers in the first quarter, and the Aces had seven as a team, both season highs.What’s happening isn’t the Aces team we’re used to seeing.
Chelsea Gray
After going up by two points after the first quarter, Golden State led by 21 at halftime after outscoring Las Vegas 34-15 in the second quarter. It was the second time this season that the Aces have been down by at least 20 points at halftime.
Hammon pointed to the Aces’ lack of effort as a common denominator.It’s just that we are mentally soft and we let people intimidate us… and we complain instead of making an effort and saying: ‘Okay, if it’s going to be like that, let’s go for it’. I told them that the effort has to come from the heart. The schemes, the discipline, the habits: that’s the head. Right now we not only have a heart problem, but it’s becoming a head problem.
Becky Hammon
Wilson, the current league MVP, was held to eight points in the first half and finished with 17 on 5-of-13 shooting. Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase told her team that Wilson could still explode at any moment.
Golden State consistently threw multiple players at Wilson, rotating double teams on her, collapsing the defense, and even presenting box-and-1 defenses.She’s the best player in the world. We all know it. She’s capable of scoring 50. [So] keep that in mind. A’ja is capable of scoring 50.
Natalie Nakase
The Valkyries have followed a similar pattern in their inaugural season, staying with their opponents or even building a lead in the first half, only to give it all back in the third quarter or in the final stretch.
Kayla Thornton achieved the first 20-point double-double of her career, with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Veronica Burton got the first double-double of her career with 14 points and 12 assists, while Monique Billings finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. It’s the first time this season that a team has three players recording a double-double in the same game.Hammon said the Aces’ poor defense was directly affected by missing “wide-open” shots on the other end. The Aces shot 35.5% from the field, their third-worst performance of the season, and just 24% from the 3-point line, their worst mark this year.
Meanwhile, the Valkyries shot 47.9% from the field, their best mark of the season, including 35.7% from the 3-point line, also their best mark of the season.
This team, we have to decide who we want to be in every game. We hold a team to 70 one night and then come out here and give up almost 100. I don’t know if they’ve scored 100 all year. It’s a good old-fashioned butt-kicking. We got outplayed in every aspect of the game. It’s one of the worst games I’ve seen from us.
Becky Hammon
