Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) seen her against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sun Jun 9, 2024 battled hard but lost their third straight game against the Minnesota Lynx on Tue Jun 11, 2024 at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
The Las Vegas Aces (5-5) dropped their third game in a row Tuesday night against the Minnesota Lynx (9-3). They now stand in fifth place in the Western Conference and they are still without Chelsea Gray. Teams are running roughshod all over them. In Tuesday night’s game the Aces struggled with turnovers and inconsistent play. Minnesota clearly outplayed them in this contest as Las Vegas continues to drop in the standings. The final in this game was 100-86. The Aces now have a 5-5 record.
Game recap: The Aces won the opening quarter 31-29 but Las Vegas got clobbered in the second quarter. The Lynx had a 59-48 lead at the half. Minnesota had won the second quarter 30-17. The Aces would have to battle from behind once again. Jackie Young was not having a great game in fact the entire team was off despite playing at home. The home fans were not even able to lift up the team as they struggled through the second quarter of play.
As the third quarter got underway it became very apparent that the Aces were just plain off. The Lynx were outplaying them at every turn. Mid-way through the quarter Minnesota was shooting close to 60% while the Aces were having an awful time shooting around 44%. The Lynx were shooting over 61% from downtown while Las Vegas was close to 41%.
The Aces had almost twice as many turnovers as the Lynx. Las Vegas had a few more rebounds than the Lynx but Minnesota was clearly dominating this game. With just under four minutes left in the third, the Lynx had a 71-55 lead.
As the clock wound down on the quarter is became very obvious that the Aces were in trouble. After three quarters the Minnesota Lynx had a 78-60 lead. Jackie Young was having an off game and Tiffany Hayes hit her first shot of the game as the quarter came to an end. There would be a lot of work to do if Las Vegas was to win this game. Minnesota had continued the assault winning the third quarter 19-12.
Minnesota continued to extend their lead in the fourth quarter taking a 93-76 lead with under three minutes left in the game. The Lynx were relentless in their play and they did not take their foot off the gas once in the second half. Las Vegas was headed for their third loss in a row and a five hundred record. The final was 100-86 and the defending champions had suffered another crushing disappointment.
A’ja Wilson had the high for this game with 28 points and eight rebounds. She continues to dominant but in this game she didn’t get much help from her teammates.
Game notes: The Las Vegas Aces continue to play without Chelsea Gray who is still rehabilitating an injury suffered in the last game of their championship series in 2023. She has not played at all this season. Jackie Young has been ill missing their last game which was a loss against the Loa Angeles Sparks. She played in Tuesday nights game as the Aces lost to the Lynx. Young had a decent energy level playing 22 minutes, scoring six points, had four rebounds and four assists.
In the Aces last game, head coach Becky Hammon was ejected late in the game. This two-time championship team is giving every one of their opponents a great shot at a win. The Aces are a shocking number 7 in the WNBA power rankings. Las Vegas has to weather the storm and hopefully come out the other side. They have no choice; this is their path right now. Las Vegas stands in fifth place right now in the Western Conference, something that nobody expected.
Thursday night the Aces take on another five hundred team, the Phoenix Mercury. They will be on the road looking to break their three game losing streak. Tipoff for this game is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
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