The Las Vegas Aces' season came to an end Friday night at Michelob Ultra Arena, where a third-quarter scoring drought doomed the defending champions in an 87-77 overtime loss to the Golden State Valkyries. The defeat completed a three-game sweep in the WNBA semifinals and sends Golden State to the finals against the Atlanta Dream.
Las Vegas controlled the first half, leading by as many as 11 points after A'ja Wilson's early third-quarter free throws. The Aces then went ice cold, missing 12 consecutive shots over a span of nearly eight minutes. Golden State turned a 47-36 deficit into a 53-49 lead, outscoring Las Vegas 17-7 in the period. During the drought, Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray combined to shoot 0-for-10 from the field.
"What I saw from us was the ball not moving," Aces coach Becky Hammon said. "I saw a very stagnant offense, and then I saw us not getting scoring, and it affected our defense. And you can't have that." Each of the team's three stars finished with a negative plus-minus for the game, with Gray at -11.
The Aces rallied in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Gray's pull-up jumper rimmed out. "I've hit that shot a thousand times. It just didn't go my way," Gray said. In overtime, the Valkyries dominated, outscoring Las Vegas 16-6 as visiting fans drowned out the home crowd with "G-S-V" chants.
Hammon pointed to injuries, including NaLyssa Smith's absence, as factors that made repeating as champions difficult. "This is why, you know, repeating is hard," she said. "There has to be some things that go your way. You have to get some lucky breaks."
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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