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The Las Vegas Aces are victorious again after an 83-72 win against the Atlanta Dream on Friday at home at Michelob Ultra Arena. The defeat also means a seat at the WNBA playoffs table and an inch closer to the three-peat.
A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 26 points. The two-time MVP continues her record of now 44 straight games with double figures, the longest active streak in the WNBA, and the second-longest in franchise history.
“That woman is something else; she's cut different,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said on Friday after the Dallas Dream defeat.
“Steph Curry shooting threes, he makes it look easy. That stuff is difficult that he’s doing and I think it’s a similar special generational talent.”
Hammon made good use of her bench and star athletes with her star guard, Jackie Young, out due to “rest.”
“Sometimes you have to help save them for themselves,” Hammon said after Friday night’s win.
“I know she’s had some aches and pains, and I just thought the rest, because she didn’t get any over the break, and then you’re already dinged up a little bit. It starts to compound.”
The team is preparing for a big adventure ahead as the next fight leads to the playoffs.
The Aces stay ready with an Ace in the hole
Tiffany Hayes has continued to show tenacity, power in her ball play and strength in her mentality. The WNBA veteran stepped in for Young as the starting guard. She scored 20 points and 10 rebounds to help the Aces grab a win.
Hayes returns to the WNBA after a brief hiatus. The veteran guard has brought a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to the Aces. The former Connecticut Sun recorded her second-ever 20+ point, 10+ rebound game, and a second double-double of her career.
“It just feels good and to get it in this way with my team rallying around me and showing the love that they’ve shown me. It felt really good,” Hayes said in the post-game presser.
Her role with Vegas has helped the team gel into the winning champions they aspire to be yet again at the end of the 2024 WNBA championships. Hayes’ amazing efforts were magnified in the matchup against the Dream as she filled a major role for Young, who’s slowed down a bit since her return from the 2024 Olympics.
In the last couple of games, the Silent Assassin has ramped up in buckets, but the need for her to rest is always a good idea when heading into an intense battle. With Aces sitting at four, the two-time champs are in for a dicey road ahead, with New York Liberty clinching the number one spot and ready to take the crown.
“We’re defending champs everybody wants to see what we’re going to do. Some people want us to fail. Some people want us to succeed. But, the pressure is always going to be there,” Wilson said after Friday night’s win against the Dream.
NBA MVP to WNBA MVP
Without a doubt, Wilson is having a magnificent season. After getting snubbed for a third MVP title, the two-time Olympian is showing the world that she’s coming for the WNBA MVP title this year by any means necessary.
“My main focus is just getting wins and putting them together,” Wilson said.
Wilson, who was playing in her 220th career game, grabbed 16 rebounds to become the fastest player in league history to amass 4,500 points, 2,000 rebounds, 400 assists, 400 blocked shots, and 200 steals, a record previously held by Lisa Leslie.
“She had like Spiderman hands or something; the ball just sticks. She doesn’t cough that thing up easily,” Hammon said at Friday’s post-game presser.
“She’s just a beautiful player to watch.”
The Aces All-Star became the first player in WNBA history to produce a game with 25+ points, 15+ rebounds, 5+ assists, 5+ blocks and zero turnovers. Should she extend her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts for another six games, she will become the first player in league history with multiple double-digit scoring streaks of 50 or more games.
“I don’t know if we’ve seen a season like she’s doing right now,” Hammon said after Friday’s win.
“I can’t recall somebody who has more steals, blocks, assists, points, rebounds and turnovers. And it’s not even close.”
Some may consider the Atlanta Dream as not much of a competition for the two-time champions with the Dream at nine. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Aces came into the matchup on the way to qualifying for the playoffs by already having one of the top standings of the league in the 2024 season. Even with Young taking it easy Friday night, the Aces were able to blow Atlanta out of the water.
This was an opportunity for the second string to flex their muscle, and they did not disappoint. Though the Dream’s bench did outscore Las Vegas 18-8, their efforts were not lost. The second quarter ended with the Aces up, and they continued to maintain that energy throughout the game.
Sydney Colson made an appearance in the first half and showed that she’s more than an assist but an asset. Colson scored six points in her 11 minutes of ball play and stacked one assist and one block. While the numbers may not be spectacular, her efforts and energy translated into the team’s momentum to go the extra mile and grab the W.
Chelsea Gray continued to deliver with her impressive passes, including an over-the-shoulder pass in the second quarter that ended in a successful bucket for the Aces- the Point Gawd had three assists, two steals and two rebounds.
Though the Aces were able to keep up the lead throughout the game, it wasn't a simple game by any means, with the Dream’s Alisha Gray and Rhyne Howard putting on the pressure. But the two-time champs were able to contain them and make it happen, tying a franchise record with their 6th straight postseason appearance berth. The win also moved the Aces ahead of the Seattle Storm in the race for the No. 4 seed.
“We have so much better basketball in front of us, and so we have to pull, and grind, and execute,” Hammon said at the post-game conference on Friday night.
“We still have work to do,” Wilson said on Friday.
“I’m very pleased with our defensive mindset today, and we’re just going to keep growing.”
The Aces return to the road to play the Phoenix Mercury at the Footprint Center on Sunday at 1 PM PST.
