Aces vanquish Valkyries for 3rd time this season, win 4th straight at home

Each outing Las Vegas has appeared to get more and more comfortable when facing Golden State, all resulting in the same outcome.

For the third time this season, the Aces took down the Valkyries this time by a final score of 92-73 Sunday, June 21 in a Father’s Day matinee. The contest featured the second-best team in the West standings beating the No. 3 team.

“They were good on the defensive end,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “Locked in from the jump. When we play defense, we’re just a different animal, a different team. Our offense is better, everything is helped when we play that end of the floor.”

Sunday marked a fourth straight home win for the reigning WNBA Champions in six attempts. Moreover, the team improved to 12-4 on the year.

Las Vegas’ three-game homestand continues Tuesday, June 23 from the Michelob Ultra Arena against New York at 7 p.m. That game will take place seven days ahead of the Commissioner’s Cup final between the same two teams, this time from Barclays Center.

“Just on the consistency measuring stick,” Hammon said. “We want to maintain and be who we are on the defensive end. Those are two really good offensive teams [coming up]. New York is huge, I think we have a really big roster [and] I think theirs is longer.”

Golden State’s best quarter in the loss was the fourth quarter and that came after being stymied by the home team’s defense for the first 30 minutes of the game.

As a team, the Aces held their opponent to 17, 13 and 19 points respectively in the first, second and third quarters.

“I hope we’re starting to [be able to] stack quarters,” Hammon said. “Just stacking quarters of really great defense. So yeah, for the most part of that game they got an A [on defense].”

At one point of the third quarter, the lead was 28 points after a second quarter that made it all possible. In that second 10-minute session, Las Vegas went on an 11-0 run heading into halftime with a 20-point lead as a result.

Just under 11 and a half minutes into the game, the Valkyries had three players with six points or more. By the final buzzer, only four players reached double-figures and none higher than 12 points.

In total, Golden State shot 42% from the field including a 5-for-30 mark from three-point range.

“Guard the three-point line,” Hammon said. “They get up a lot of them, they shoot them efficiently. So we just wanted to make sure they weren’t getting easy ones and comfortable ones where they get into a groove on you quickly.”

Five players had double-digit scoring nights for Las Vegas led by 21 points from guard Jackie Young. In addition, she also passed her head coach for the second spot on the franchise’s all-time assists list.

Young now only sits behind teammate Chelsea Gray for the top spot in team history.

Forward A’ja Wilson shook off a first half technical foul after catching former teammate Tiffany Hayes in the mouth with an elbow while setting a screen. She’d finish her night a rebound-shy of a double-double as she put up a stat line of 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

The aforementioned Gray also finished a single stat away from a double-double with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and nine assists. Those nine assists nearly accounted for half of the team’s 21 total helpers.

Forward NaLyssa Smith was the fourth starter in double-figures with 14 points on a near perfect 6-for-7 from the field. Reserve guard Jewell Loyd added 14 points on 5-of-7 from the floor with four makes from downtown.

In total, the Aces made 11 of their 24 three-point attempts.

“Playing out of our defense it’s really, really helpful,” Gray said. “You’re not playing against a set defense all the time when you’re taking the ball out the net.”