Aces capture first win of year over Lynx, stretch win streak to franchise record 13 games

MVP candidates A'ja Wilson (#22) and Napheesa Collier (#24) battle down low inside the T-Mobile Arena. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

Take a pick in terms of what means more to the Las Vegas Aces as they extended its current win streak to a franchise-best 13 straight games or the team picking up its first win of the year over the league’ best Minnesota Lynx.

For the first time this season, Las Vegas beat Minnesota, by a final score of 97-87 from the T-Mobile Arena Thursday, Sept. 4. Prior to Thursday’s outcome, the Aces had been beaten three times by the Lynx this season by an average of 32.7 points per game including a 53-point loss last month.

That 53-point drubbing was the final loss before this long win streak for the former back-to-back league champions.

“You want to be building winning habits,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “That’s the goal all year. Does winning become a habit? That’s the goal but I’ll tell you, it’s the hardest habit to learn. Winning in this league is not easy.”

With 13 straight wins, Las Vegas is back in second place in the WNBA’s standings with an overall record of 27-14. As it presently stands, the team is locked into a three-way tie with Phoenix and Atlanta but it holds the tiebreaker over both lingering squads.

“We didn’t sign up for easy,” Hammon said. “Anybody that’s in the public eye, you can do it all wrong, you can do it all right, people are going to have their opinions. We just have to be about ourselves and be about getting better.”

Aces forward A'ja Wilson pushes past Lynx forward Napheesa Collier on a dribble drive. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

Thursday marked the start of a three-game homestand that will be the final regular season home stretch for the Aces. All three games will be played from the T-Mobile Arena.

Both of the remaining games on the homestand will be contested against the Chicago Sky with the first of the two meetings coming on Sunday, Sept. 7 with tip-off set for 6 p.m.

“It’s great,” Hammon said. “We’re just about the next game. So we’ll let you guys keep track of all that. We’ve just got to be in the arena in the first quarter against Chicago on Sunday.”

A flooded T-Mobile Arena serenaded Wilson with “M-V-P chants” in the fourth quarter as she put the finishing touches on another 30-point effort. The feeling was in the air after a 10-point first quarter for the three-time MVP winner on 5-of-6 shooting.

Wilson cashed in on a three-pointer from near the top of the key to put her team up 10 points with just over five and a half left in regulation. That forced a timeout from Minnesota, allowing the hometown crowd to begin its “M-V-P chants.”

“Another day in the office,” she said. “It really is, I try to work as hard as I can so I can just perform well. Not just for our fans but for my teammates.”

Las Vegas forward A'ja Wilson reacts after drilling a three-pointer as part of the team's win over Minnesota. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

In the win, Wilson tallied 31 points on a very crispy 12-of-15 from the field to go along with eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Her effort helped Las Vegas edge its opponent in rebounding and points in the paint by one and two respectively.

Through the first half, neither team built a lead larger than five points before Las Vegas hit a different gear in the third and fourth quarters. By the final horn, both teams finished with field goal percentages of 54% or better.

While Wilson led the team in a variety of ways, the Aces were aided with big shots from several players in key moments along the way.

Guard Jewell Loyd gave the team its first lead of the game just over midway through the first quarter on a made three. That would be the first of two made threes for the two-time champion.

Rookie guard Aaliyah Nye drilled a three about halfway through the second quarter which counted as her first made trey since Aug. 13th. Before that, she was 1 for her last 16 attempts from beyond the arc.

Nye ultimately knocked down two threes in the game for her most since hitting the same amount in an Aug. 3 home win over Golden State. As a team, Las Vegas shot 11-of-24 from three-point range.

Aces guard Chelsea Gray goes up for a floater inside the paint against the Lynx. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

“This was kind of how I envisioned this team offensively all year,” Hammon said. “I’ve always thought they were capable of 95-100 [points]. Now that means, you’re playing extremely fast, you’re extremely efficient on both ends. You saw that and what that looks like tonight.” 

At one point late in the third quarter, Minnesota went on a 7-0 run to trim the deficit to a single point. Down one, Lynx forward Jessica Shepard missed both of her free throw attempts which guard Jackie Young turned into a three-point make on the other end.

That quarter finished with a buzzer-beater from guard Chelsea Gray.

Young added 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting while Gray posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.

“Cutting, playing off of each other,” Gray said. “We were just selfless tonight, that’s what we talked about coming into this basketball game.”

Forward NaLyssa Smith was the final player in double-figures with 10 points on 5-of-8 from the field.