Heartbreaking three-pointer from rookie leads to second straight single-point road loss for Las Vegas

Las Vegas endured its second straight road loss by a single point and in a similar fashion too.

The Aces missed out on a regular season sweep of the Chicago Sky Saturday, Aug. 1 from Wintrust Arena, 84-83. That put an end to a potential three-game win streak for Las Vegas while former assistant Tyler Marsh picked up his first win as a lead man over head coach Becky Hammon.

“You hold a team to 16, 18 and 21 [points] then you give up 29 in the fourth quarter,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “Defensively, you go completely away from what we did all game or don’t do it at a high enough level.

“This loss was completely avoidable.”

It’s just the fourth loss on the road for the defending champions this season in 15 tries. Overall, the team is 20-9 on the year and still trail the league-leading Minnesota Lynx (24-6).

Las Vegas will travel to Atlanta for a date with the Dream Monday, Aug. 3 with tip-off set for 4 p.m. from Gateway Center Arena at College Park. That will be the second of a five-game road trip.

“They’re a come-from-behind type of group,” Hammon said. “They came back on us but you’ve been watching them do it all year. So no lead is safe, you can never get comfortable.”

Chicago rookie Sydney Taylor had herself a game with a team-high 29 points and the game-winning three-pointer with 0.9 left in regulation. Earlier in the fourth quarter, the home team grabbed its first lead since, 9-7, in the first 10 minutes of the game.

“[We can clean up] making the simple play,” Hammon said. “I thought we got into some crowds, maybe hugged onto the ball a little bit.”

Heading into the final quarter of regulation, the Aces led by 10 points in a game where it led by as many as 13 points, the sky opened the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run to trim that lead to just three.

Soon after, Las Vegas saw the game tied at 72 apiece as Chicago won the fourth quarter, 29-18.

“From our perspective, you give up a late and-one,” Hammon said. “And the inability to get stops when we need it. Just really unfortunate – this is one that got away for sure.”

Forward A’ja Wilson scored four straight points after the game was tied as she crossed the 30-points threshold for the second straight game and the 10th overall this season.

Wilson recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 36 points and 12 rebounds in this one. She also added two blocks and a steal.

In fact, Wilson collaborated with teammate Jackie Young for a stop late in regulation with 7.3 left on the clock. Not long after, Wilson raced to the bucket for two as she drove past fellow South Carolina alum Kamilla Cardoso.

“You just have to keep playing and make the easy play,” Hammon said. “We didn’t make easy passes. If somebody’s open, you pass them the ball and we have to cut and move. I didn’t think the ball movement was especially great today.

“However, I think we did enough to win the game. It came down to our defense in the fourth quarter letting us down again.

Just before that go-ahead bucket by the league’s reigning MVP, Hammon and company had to use back-to-back timeouts in order to advance the ball to halfcourt. That meant the team didn’t have one following that dagger three by the rookie that left just under a second left on the clock.

Young posted a double-double, her fifth of the season but her first points-rebounds double-double of the year. Her final stat line read 18 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, a block, a steal but six turnovers in the loss.

Once again she got off to a fast start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter for the fourth time this year. In that opening frame, she shot 4-of-6 from the field while the rest of the team shot 4-for-13 from the floor.

Forward NaLyssa Smith added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting as she reached 2,000 points for her career.

Fellow forward Kierstan Bell played five minutes, logging her first live action since July 11.

“[The bench] is going to get [it’s] opportunity,” Hammon said. “It’s just about knocking down shots and we didn’t today. We’re going to struggle on the road when we shoot 5-for-23 and we had a lot of decent looks, we just missed and that’s unfortunate.”