Offense falls flat in second half as Aces lose 2nd of 3 without MVP Wilson

Indiana forward Sophie Cunningham celebrates after a made three-pointer against Las Vegas. Photo Credit: Flash Gordon/Talk that Talk

With neither guard Caitlin Clark or forward A’ja Wilson available for their respective teams, it was Indiana who was better prepared to pick up the slack for its downed star.

Las Vegas came up short in an, 84-68, loss inside the T-Mobile Arena Sunday, July 5 to end a three-game homestand. The Aces are now 6-4 at home this season.

“I think we quite frankly ran out of gas,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “We looked tired. Couldn’t muster up enough energy to run through screens defensively, but the offensive boards definitely hurt us in the third quarter.”

Both teams will play again in one week’s time, this time from the Michelob Ultra Arena. For now, Sunday’s loss counted as just the second regular season loss for Las Vegas in its last 13 tries.

After entering Sunday’s contest tied for the top spot in the league with Minnesota, the Aces have now fallen to 15-6 on the year.

“We’ve got a couple of days here to rest and regroup,” Hammon said. “Before we go out on the road for [another] one.”

That rest will come ahead of a road date with the Portland Fire set for Thursday, July 9. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Fever guard Lexie Hull takes a corner three as Aces forward NaLyssa Smith closes out. Photo Credit: Flash Gordon/Talk that Talk

A buzzer-beater by Indiana’s Lexie Hull just before the halftime break gave the visitors a lead heading into a second half. A second session that would be completely dominated by the Fever.

Even with a tie at 47 early in the third quarter, things would soon be flipped completely in the form of a big run that saw the home team fall behind by double-digits.

Indiana went on a 17-4 run highlighted by an 8-0 spurt to put Las Vegas in a 13-point hole. At one point, the Fever drilled back-to-back three-pointers before successfully challenging a play and nailing a third three following an offensive rebound.

“Our offense has to help our defense to a certain degree,” Hammon said. “That’s the fastest team in the league as far as pace and pushing pace. When we’re taking quick shots or not good shots, they’re just off to the races and it puts your defense behind right away.”

That deficit would be stretched to 18 points in the fourth quarter as guard Kelsey Mitchell and center Aliyah Boston put forth strong performances. Mitchell poured in a game-high 27 points in the win while Boston chipped in with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

“Not a terrible job tonight to hold them to 84 [points],” Hammon said. “We just couldn’t score on the other end. Even though I didn’t love the third quarter defensively, the problem tonight was on the offensive end from what I saw.”

Las Vegas guard Jackie Young attempts a three-pointer during the team's home loss to Indiana. Photo Credit: Flash Gordon/Talk that Talk

Guard Jackie Young led Las Vegas with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting. She also had five of her team’s 13 turnovers versus just seven for the opponents.

Loyd added 12 points of her own despite going scoreless in the second half. In addition, she accounted for half of the team’s three-point output with her two makes on five attempts.

“My mindset is kind of different,” Loyd said. “I had a conversation with my Dad and we got back to the basics.”

As a team, the Aces went 4-for-19 from three-point territory.

Guard Chelsea Gray was the final Las Vegas player in double-figures with 10 points in just over 30 minutes of action. Moreover, she racked up six assists in the first half including five in the first 12-plus minutes.

However, she’d be held without an assist in that second half that went awry.

“We’re trying to obviously move the ball a lot,” Loyd said. “Sometimes we need her to be more aggressive when we’re trying to get going. A lot of it relies on her helping us to run the offense but we also need her to score.”