On Saturday afternoon, the Aces pulled out their sixth straight win with a win over the reigning champions. A long battle occurred between both teams, but only one team could’ve pulled out a win. The Aces defeated the Defending Champs 83-76.
First Half
At the end of the first half, the Aces led the Sky by 51-38. After a close first quarter, where the Sky led by 1 point at the end of the first quarter, the Aces came in strong in the second quarter. The Aces went on a 10-0 run at a point during the 2nd quarter, eventually scoring 29 points in this quarter, much more compared to the Sky’s 15-point second quarter. The Aces starters outscored the Sky’s starters by 27 points in the first half, four out of the five Aces starters ended the first half in double figures.
At the end of the first half, Kelsey Plum was leading the Aces with 14 points; not far behind were Chelsea Gray, Dearica Hamby and A’ja Wilson, all with 12 points. Jackie Young contributed with 5 assists. Overall the Aces shot 19-39 from the field and 3-9 from 3-point in the first half.
At the end of the first half, Courtney Vandersloot led the Sky with 9 points. Candace Parker had 7 points, but all from the first quarter. The Sky shot 43 shots from the field but only were able to make 16. The Sky were able to outrebound the Aces in the first quarter, but the Aces were too difficult to stop in the second quarter. Both teams had 22 rebounds at the end of the half, but the Aces’ offense was too dominant for the Sky.
Second Half
Despite a close game, primarily at the end of the 4th quarter, where the Sky went on an 8-0 run, the Aces were able to pull out the win. The Aces relied heavily on their efforts, especially on defense, to win the game. The starters for the Aces played heavy minutes but brought significant contributions to their win. The Sky actually outscored the Aces in 2 quarters, most significantly in the fourth quarter, but the Aces’ success in other quarters allowed them to remain on top. This win for the Aces led them to be 8-1, with a six-game winning streak. While Chicago fell to 4-3 with this loss.
The leading scorer for the game was A’ja Wilson with 22 points and she also led in rebounds with 16. Dearica Hamby also was a significant contributor with 14 points and 14 rebounds. All five of the Aces’ starters scored in double figures, but the bench contributed no points.
For the Sky, Kahleah Copper and Courtney Vandersloot both had 12 points. Candace Parker contributed 11 points and a team-high of 11 rebounds. The Sky struggled with scoring, especially from 3-point. They are usually a 3-point heavy team but only made 5 on 31 attempts, with 4 of these threes coming from the first quarter alone. Both teams struggled with shooting, the Aces also not making many threes (4 out of 20). Overall both teams struggled on both sides of the ball at times. Despite the struggles, the Aces were able to pull out the win. The Aces defeated the Defending Champs 83-76.
“Our defensive effort, we didn’t shoot the greatest percentage from beyond the arc, and inside the arc we missed free throws we don’t normally miss, some layups in the beginning. Jackie Young had some finishes that’s going in any given night. If you would’ve bet on it you would’ve said it was going in. Some out of character things offensively, but defensively we were engaged and on point. We would get a stop than they would get offensive rebounds and those were those moments where they would kick it out for a 3 or get an easier putback.”
Chelsea Gray on the team’s performance and what set them apart from the Sky
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