The Las Vegas Aces matched up with the Connecticut Sun on Thursday evening in a West vs. East coast battle. The Aces were able to utilize their strengths and defeat the Sun in a thrilling game. The Aces extend their winning streak with an 89-81 win over the Sun.
First Half
At the end of the first half, the Aces led the Sun by 50-42. After only being up by two points at the end of the first quarter, the Aces were able to utilize their defensive skills and translate them into offensive points on the other end of the floor. During the first quarter, no team led by more than 4 points and during the second quarter the Aces were able to go on a 10-0 run after being tied at 25. The Aces forced turnovers by taking advantage of the passing lanes, then utilizing transition offense for easy buckets.
Leading the Aces at the end of the first half was Jackie Young with 15 points (10 in the first quarter), Kelsey Plum with 13 points and 5 assists and not far behind A’ja Wilson with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Wilson’s first-half double-double is her sixth of the season and she leads the league in double-doubles. Chelsea Gray also added several clutch buckets, with a layup right before the buzzer at the half; she also had 3 steals in the first half.
At the end of the first half, Courtney Williams was leading the Sun with 11 points and 4 assists. 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Natisha Hiedeman additionally contributed with 4 assists. The Sun is a strong rebounding team, primarily on offense and they were struggling against the Aces’ defense. When the Sun do get offensive rebounds at various points in the first half, they usually get an easy bucket.
Second Half
Despite the efforts to come back in the second half, the Sun could not overcome the Aces’ lead. The Aces relied heavily on transition defense during the game, an emphasis for the team said by coach Hammon at the postgame conference. The Aces continue to show dominance with their starting five, all starters playing heavy minutes. The Sun slowly cut into the Aces’ lead in both the 3rd and 4th quarter but could not get any closer than an Aces’ 8-point lead. The Sun outscored the Aces by 3 points in the 4th quarter, but the Aces’ previous leads allowed them to pull out the win.
The leading scorer for the game was Wilson with 24 points; she also led in rebounds with 14. Jackie was a significant contributor with 21 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Plum finished with 18 points and 7 assists, and Chelsea had 6 assists and 3 steals. Four out of the five Aces’ starters finished in double-figure scoring. The leading scorer for the Sun at the end of the game was DeWanna Bonner with 14 points. Jonquel Jones led the sun in rebounds with 13.
The Aces finished the game shooting 45.2% from the field, while the Sun shot 43.6%. The Aces also had significant points from the free-throw line making 17/20, while the Sun made 7/12. The Sun’s bench outscored the Aces’ bench 22-4. But the Aces’ starters outscored the Sun’s starters 85-55. Fast break points and translation offense proved to be an effective tactic for the win for the Aces, with 22 fast break points compared to the Sun’s (2). The Aces extend their winning streak with an 89-81 win over the Sun with this win.
The Aces now have a winning streak of seven games and advance to 9-1.
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