Each likelihood she obtained within the lead-up to Wednesday’s recreation, Aces coach Becky Hammon made public pleas for the workforce to point out some coronary heart.
Hammon was making ready the Aces to host the Los Angeles Sparks for the second time this season, having blown them out by 15 factors on Might 30. The Golden State Valkyries offered each groups loads of motivation previous to tipoff, handing the Aces a 27-point defeat on Saturday earlier than beating the Sparks in time beyond regulation on Monday.
“Attempt arduous,” Hammon stated of her need from the Aces after a follow. “All people’s making an attempt their hardest in opposition to you. You may’t get punked like that.”
Many metaphors about taking part in powerful adopted, however the Aces didn’t fairly present that capacity when the lights got here on, taking a 97-89 loss to the Sparks to open a three-game homestand at Michelob Extremely Area.
The house workforce obtained off to a 9-2 begin, however Rickea Jackson erased that lead with three-straight 3-pointers, and the Aces by no means led once more.
Aces star A’ja Wilson left the sport late within the third quarter with a head damage, the workforce stated. She had 13 factors, eight rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and two steals when she departed.
Jackie Younger scored 34 factors and Chelsea Grey added 28 for the Aces (4-4), who trailed 29-17 after the primary quarter.
Rickea Jackson led the Sparks (4-7) with a career-high 30 factors. Former Aces Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby had 19 factors every.
Listed here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Wilson damage
After Wilson took an obvious hit to the face with no foul name, the reigning MVP, Younger and Grey all contributed to a 7-0 run that introduced the Aces inside 57-51 with 4:36 left within the third quarter, forcing the Sparks to name a full timeout.
Wilson ran again to the locker room with lower than a minute left in third, and the Sparks entered the fourth quarter with a 71-65 lead.
Hammon stated she was below the impression that the damage was brought on by Hamby’s elbow and that it drew blood, however that the workforce received’t know anything till Wilson visits a health care provider Thursday.
2. Younger battles
After being held scoreless within the first quarter, Younger battled till the final second. She had a hand in the entire Aces’ last factors, scoring 12 and aiding Kiah Stokes and Grey for the opposite 5.
A solo 9-0 run from Younger within the second quarter introduced the Aces inside 9 factors at 39-30 after trailing by 20. The burst included back-to-back driving three-point performs and a 3-pointer, and he or she had 14 factors by halftime. She transformed on one other three-point play to finish the third quarter.
3. Roster strikes
The Aces solely obtained three factors from their reserves Wednesday courtesy of Tiffany Mitchell, however the workforce made two strikes previous to tipoff in hopes of bolstering its bench.
After waiving Crystal Bradford, the Aces introduced the signing of 6-foot-3-inch ahead Joyner Holmes.
The 6-1 Bradford signed a coaching camp contract with the Aces in February and survived a number of cuts to earn her first WNBA roster spot since 2021. She averaged 1.0 factors and 1.3 rebounds in restricted minutes off the bench.
Holmes most lately performed for the Seattle Storm and has made stops with the Sparks, Connecticut Solar and New York Liberty since she was drafted in 2020. She even performed 4 video games for the Aces in 2021 and holds profession averages of two.8 factors and a pair of.0 rebounds.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Observe @CallieJLaw on X.
