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Aces take 2-0 lead in WNBA Finals after lopsided Game 2 win
- Terrel Emerson
- Oct 5
- 4 min read
Holding homecourt meant securing a 2-0 series lead in this year’s WNBA Finals for the Las Vegas Aces as the team prepares for the series to shift to Phoenix.
Las Vegas put on a shiny performance in the team’s, 91-78, win over Phoenix in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals Sunday, Oct. 5 from Michelob Ultra Arena. Through six total games this season against the Mercury, the Aces have claimed five of the meetings.
“Look, we’ve got to focus in,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “None of the work ever carries over. So yeah we can build off some success, we kind of know what we like [...] I feel like defensively we have a firm idea of what we should be doing and how it should look and how it should feel.”
Moreover, Las Vegas is 6-0 from the Michelob Ultra Arena in the team’s last three WNBA Finals series.
“Our fans,” guard Jackie Young said. “They support us all season and it’s our job to put on a show for them. They show up every single night so we just have to come out here and get the job done.”
Now, the series shifts back to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4 where the Mercury will look to even up this Best-of-7 game series. Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 8 from the PHX Arena with tip-off set for 5 p.m.
“That’s the goal, to not let up,” Hammon said. “You just don’t want to have a satisfied locker room because we’re not there yet. All we did was do what we were supposed to do, we’re supposed to take care of our homecourt.”
Even after another fast start by Phoenix, Las Vegas was able to withstand the early storm and rebound to have big quarters in the second and third. The Mercury opened the game on a 7-0 run before being met by a 13-4 spurt by the home team to take a brief two-point lead.
“We’re a different team when we execute defensively,” Hammon said. “We did not execute defensively in that first quarter. Why do we use one quarter to warm up? I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure that out.”
In the second quarter, forward A’ja Wilson was at the heart of a big run that shaped the duration of the contest. She scored nine points during an 11-0 run for her team that forced a Phoenix timeout.
Ultimately, the Aces would close the first half on a 19-4 run to take a nine-point lead into the halftime break.
“We worked our way into it,” Hammon said. “I thought [in] the second quarter, defensively, it kind of clicked for us. Once we’re able to flip that switch, we become a different team.”
Wilson finished her night with 28 points and 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double of these playoffs while shooting 13-of-23 from the field. Her effort helped Las Vegas crash the boards for 43 rebounds while holding its opponent to 34 on the other end.
The third quarter saw Young put forth a historic performance, scoring 21 points in the frame on 8-of-11 shooting. The 21 points scored are the most in a single-quarter in WNBA Finals history.
She ended the quarter with two free throws to give her 30 points for the game on her way to 32 in the win.
“Just being aggressive is the biggest thing,” Young said. “Then when we get stops on defense, we’re able to get out in transition and play at the pace we want to play at.”
At one point of that third quarter, Young scored 14 of 18 points during a stretch for her Aces. This record-breaking performance came two days removed from admitting she had been lethargic in the team’s Game 1 win.
“Woke up early yesterday and got some treatment in,” Young said. “Honestly, that was it. [I] spent a lot of time getting treatment. Obviously, we knew it was just a fatigue thing.”
Fellow guard Chelsea Gray flirted with a triple-double in the win with 10 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
“She does so many little things,” Hammon said. “These possessions where they’re like running [football] routes over the top, that’s the kind of pace that I want all the time. So when they do it without me saying it, I love it.”
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