Nakase, Valkyries dominate Hammon, Aces in Bay Area reunion

Las Vegas head coach watches from the sideline during a contest inside the Chase Center. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

A familiar face formerly on the sidelines of the Las Vegas Aces led a first-year franchise to a monumental win a reunion of sorts.

Golden State whooped Las Vegas, 95-68, Saturday, June 7 from Chase Center in the first-ever meeting between the two franchises. In addition, it was the first head-to-head meeting between Aces head coach Becky Hammon and former assistant coach Natalie Nakase.

“We have a heart condition because the effort just wasn’t where it needs to be,” Hammon said. “[The Valkyries] came out, threw the first punch and we became the punching bag from then on.”

Saturday’s matchup marked the end of a two-game road trip for Las Vegas. In total, the team embarked on five road games through its first seven games of the season.

Now that the chance to win three straight games is over, the 4-3 Aces will look to reset back home as part of a three-game homestand beginning next week. Wednesday, June 11, the team will be back in action against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Head coaches Natalie Nakase and Becky Hammon acknowledge each other following their first-ever head-to-head matchup. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

“This team – we’ve got to decide who we want to be,” Hammon said. “To hold teams in the 70s and then come out here and give up almost 100 – which I don’t know if they’ve scored 100 all year or come even close. It’s a good old fashioned ass whooping.”

Entering play, Golden State had suffered four straight losses before ending Las Vegas’ short two-game win streak. En route to the win, the home team led for the duration of the game.

The 68 points scored by the Aces set a new season-low for the club. In addition, the 68 points is the fifth-lowest put up since Hammon took over in 2022.

“I mean, it’s definitely our issue,” Hammon said. “[The Valkyries] played a great game, they hit a lot of shots. But it’s easier to make shots when you’re up 20 the whole game. At the end of the day, it falls back on us.”

Golden State used an early second-quarter run to grow its big lead. Ultimately, the home team would push its lead to more than 20 points before halftime. At one point of the third quarter, the Valkyries were up by 29 points in a game where it never trailed.

Nakase’s defensive gameplan for her former backcourt was so strong it also hindered the performance of first-year Ace Jewell Loyd.

With less than three minutes left in the first half, the guard tandem of Loyd and Jackie Young had combined to shoot 0-for-10 from the field. Not long after, Loyd would score her first points of the game at the free throw line.

At halftime, Loyd had those two points while teammate Chelsea Gray added two points of her own. However, Young had still yet to score.

Young scored her first points on free throws in the third quarter on her way to four points on 1-of-8 shooting. Loyd added five more points on 1-for-6 from the field to go along with six rebounds.

Gray was the only starting guard in double-figures with 16 points, nine of which came in the second half. She connected on seven of her 11 field goal attempts including two made threes.

Las Vegas guard Chelsea Gray elevates for a midrange jumper against Golden State. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

As a team, Las Vegas shot just 36% from the field while allowing its opponent to over around 48% from the floor. Moreover, the team was forced into 13 turnovers including seven in the first quarter.

“I haven’t looked at the stats but I know in the first quarter we had a load of turnovers,” Hammon said. “I don’t know if we thought we were wearing black tonight but we were in our home uniforms. Anytime you have more assists to the other team, that’s not very good.”

Forward A’ja Wilson led all Las Vegas scorers with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting with six rebounds to go along with it. It’s the fourth time in the first seven games of the year, where she’s been held to less than 20 points including Saturday’s contest for a second straight such outing.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Wilson said. “The small time I’ve been playing in this league, I’ve generated some double teams [...] I don’t think they did anything out of the ordinary. I think moreso on us, we’ve got to get more movement in our system.”

Rookie guard Aaliyah Nye scored 13 points off-the-bench for Hammon and company in the loss. She knocked down half of the team’s six made threes on a night where the group shot a collective, 24% from deep.

“We missed a lot of open shots,” Hammon said. “That can happen, the problem is we let missing shots affect our defensive end and that can’t be.”