Young’s career night marks the Aces’ return to regular season play amid final playoff push

As a collective, the WNBA is back in session following a break for the FIBA World Cup that saw the United States Women’s National Team win gold for a fifth straight tournament and 10th in the last 13 tries.

First-ever four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson opted to sit out of the tournament citing rest while head coach Becky Hammon had guards Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young represent her team in Germany on the way to the gold medal.

Back in Las Vegas Aces’ colors, the trio helped its club take down the Seattle Storm, 114-77, from Climate Pledge Arena Thursday, Sept. 17. That dropped the team’s remaining regular season games from four to three.

“I’m not looking to give up 29 points in a quarter [as the season winds down], I’ll tell you that,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “We’re just looking to buckle up defensively. I do think when we play defense we’re the toughest team in the league.”

Returning from the break with a victory pushes Las Vegas’ current win streak to four consecutive games. Moreover, the team improved its record away from home to 15-6 while moving to 28-13 overall.

Entering Thursday, the Aces were in the third spot in the WNBA standings as they sat four games behind the top spot held by the Minnesota Lynx and two games back of the Golden State Valkyries.

“We’re battle-tested because of the previous four years,” Hammon said. “We just want to be playing good, solid basketball going into the playoffs.”

With two more regular season home games left on the schedule, Las Vegas will head back home for its final homestand of the year. It will begin with a Sunday, Sept. 20 matchup with Seattle.

Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. from the Michelob Ultra Arena.

“Four games [left],” Hammon said. “And they’re all important for seeding so we understand that. So we’re coming into every game with the appropriate mindset, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”

While forward Stephanie Talbot knocked down a three-pointer for the first made field goal of the night for the Aces, it would be Young who would go on to score the final 22 points of the opening quarter for the reigning champions.

Young posted that 22-point first quarter on 8-of-9 shooting after entering the contest averaging just under 19 points per game.

“Just trying to come back and be locked in,” she said. “We knew we still had four games left after the break. So just coming back and being locked in, just trying to get the job done.”

Young finished the outing with a career-high 35 points on 12-of-18 from the field to go along with five assists despite five turnovers.

“I just tried to take care of my body when I was out there,” she said. “It’s a long W season but going over to Berlin makes it even longer so just making the most of my time over there trying to get a lot of rest, recovery and treatment.”

That start by Young completely obliterated Seattle’s 4-for-19 shooting mark in the first quarter including no makes on five three-point attempts. By the final buzzer, the Storm posted final shooting splits of 38%, 30% and 79%.

“It’s such a separation factor for us,” Hammon said. “I thought that first unit really got off and set a great tempo for us defensively and the rest kind of followed suit.”

In total, Las Vegas led by as many as 37 points in the victory as it shot 58% from the floor, 46% from three-point range and 88% from the free throw line.

Additionally, the Aces dished out 29 assists on 40 made field goals en route to the win. Four players recorded at least five assists in the winning effort.

As a result of the valiant team play, Las Vegas scored a season-best 114 points while tallying at least 100 points for the 12th time this season.

“Really great game of just playing the right way,” Hammon said. “Especially early on, they were bringing a lot of bodies to A’ja. Obviously, Jackie got us off to a great start [and] got on a heater in that first quarter and that kind of loosens up the defense on everybody else.”

Wilson started his first game since Aug. 28 with an 0-for-3 shooting start in the first quarter. She scored her first points of the game in the second quarter just moments after Seattle center Dominique Malonga did the same.

Malonga was held to 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the loss. She racked up 19 points in the first meeting between the two clubs.

Wilson, on the other hand, wrapped up the first half with 13 points scored, all of which came in the second quarter. The combination of Young and Wilson’s 37 points halfway through the game was three more than the home team as a whole.

“As soon as I got drafted, she took me under her wing,” Young said. “It took me a few years to catch up and get to where I needed to be in order for us to be where we’re at today. She just stayed there along my side through it all. I knew if I got to the level I needed to be at, it would make her job a lot easier.”

By the final buzzer, Wilson posted 29 points on 9-of-13 from the floor including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line coupled with seven rebounds and five assists.

“A’ja was incredibly efficient from all areas of the court,” Hammon said. “Just playing solid, taking what the defense gives her, getting to her spots and just being super efficient obviously helps us a lot. But we had a lot of solid contributions from everybody.”

Gray went down in the game’s opening quarter but would return to the bench before the beginning of the second. In her first action back from the break, she recorded five points, six assists and nine rebounds, which tied for the game-high.

In addition, reserve guard Dana Evans headed to the locker room as well, this time late in the second quarter. She’d return to the floor in the third quarter before finishing with 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench.

In her first showing with the team, center Kalani Brown added 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in just nine minutes.

“I felt good,” she said. “I had a little jitters in the first half. But obviously, once I got out there and started playing I kind of felt more comfortable and I think you saw that in the second half.

“I’m super excited to be a part of this team, a part of championship culture and helping them win.”