Young starts early, Wilson closes the show as Aces claim first victory of year against Liberty

Las Vegas' bench reacts after a made and-one layup by four-time MVP A'ja Wilson. Photo Credit: Adan Castillo/Talk that Talk

Las Vegas has its first victory over New York this season after dropping its first two meetings of the year against its rival.

On Legacy Night while honoring the franchise’s time as the Utah Starzz, the Aces downed the Liberty, 104-99, from Michelob Ultra Arena Thursday, July 30. That runs the team to 2-0 after the all-star break after entering the night with a 4-3 record over its last seven games.

“Every opportunity we play somebody in the regular season it’s an opportunity to learn more about them,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “This is gone be a playoff team so I’m sure their side is taking notes, we’re taking notes.

“We have a lot of respect for New York from top-to-bottom so I think you get two really locked in teams.”

Thursday night marked the end of a two-game homestand for the defending champions that pushed their record in Las Vegas to 9-5 this season. Now, the team sits with a 20–5 overall record after coming into play three and a half games back of league-leading Minnesota (24-6).

Las Vegas will embark on a five-game road trip next and that begins Saturday, Aug. 1 from Wintrust Arena in a 10 a.m. matchup with Chicago.

“I think this road trip is going to tell some things,” guard Chelsea Gray said. “How we play, how we dictate on the defensive end, you’re seeing signs and it’s a scary world out there when you’re starting to see signs. I like where we’re at right now, we’re trying to get better, we’re getting better in real time. We’re not waiting, we’re making adjustments in real time and that’s the difference between playoff teams [and] championship teams.”

Aces forward A'ja Wilson finishes at the rim with her right hand during the team's home win over the Libert. Photo Credit: Adan Castillo/Talk that Talk

Over the final 5:39 of the third quarter, the Aces held the Liberty to just three made field goals. Even with a fourth push from the visitors that stretch seemed to change the tone of the game.

“We came out and we gave up some layups,” Hammon said. “So we went back to maybe putting a little bit more pressure and attention on the ball to stop it from getting downhill so quickly. There comes a point where your defense has to take a stand so in those moments, I challenge them to win the next three minutes [or] to win the next five minutes.”

New York went on an 8-2 run early in the frame after falling behind by 10 points. Ultimately, it would climb back to within a single point of tying the game on the heels of a now 13-4 run.

Forward A’ja Wilson opened the third quarter with back-to-back buckets that pushed her team’s lead to double-digits. That was a far-cry from her first half showing that saw her miss her first three shots from the field to start the game before heading into halftime with 10 points on 2-of-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists

“It doesn’t matter, you’re a human first,” guard Jewell Loyd said. “I’m always telling her to just breathe like we’ve done this millions of times. At halftime, it’s just constant communication for all of us, ‘Just keep shooting,’ ‘Next shot.’

“That’s a good teammate but also just a good person and a good habit to have as a human being.”

Later in that third frame, she’d connect on a long three-pointer to push the lead back to 10. In total, the first-ever four-time league MVP scored 18 points in that third quarter on her way to a game-high 33 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Late in regulation, Wilson converted on a vital and-one that produced three points for her team with less than a minute left en route to the eventual win.

In that same fourth quarter, Wilson had a monster block on a driving Breanna Stewart during a performance that saw the two-time MVP catch fire late.

Las Vegas forward A'ja Wilson blocks New York forward Breanna Stewart inside the Michelob Ultra Arena. Photo Credit: Adan Castillo/Talk that Talk

Stewart scored the first seven points for New York entering the fourth quarter before finishing the night with 26 points on 50% shooting coupled with 11 rebounds.

“It’s amazing,” Loyd said. “I’ve been very fortunate to be in this league for quite some time to see the greatness of players and the different generations of players.

“[Wilson and Stewart] put in the work everyday. All the stuff you guys don’t see all the time, they are constantly working on their craft whether it's film or their bodies or just extra shots. When you do all that, the product is going to show up on top of just who you are.”

While Wilson had a cold first half, teammate Jackie Young had just the opposite. The former No. 1 overall pick raced out of the gate with nine points on three made threes in the first three-plus minutes of the game. All in all, she tallied 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first quarter.

As a team, the Aces shot 9-for-16 from three in the first quarter which was one more make than the final mark by the visitors in the 40-minute contest.

“It always helps when the three-ball is going in,” Hammon said. “We had 25 assists tonight so that means we’re probably taking a good amount of decent quality looks. You’re always going to shoot a better percentage when you’re taking good quality looks.”

Young put forth a career-performance in the first half with 22 points in the first 20 minutes of the game. That’s one point better than her previous career-best for most points in a half with 21 points scored during the team’s title run in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury.

Aces guard Jackie Young hangs in the air for a jumpshot against the Liberty. Photo Credit: Adan Castillo/Talk that Talk

“I think there’s moments where she’s just more decisive,” Gray said. “I think I can help that by getting her looks, like if she’s made two-in-a-row then get her the basketball again. We’ve got to strike while the iron is hot – if she was able to get 40 [points] in the first half, let’s do it.”

Young finished with 23 points in the win to go along with a game-high nine assists.

Gray was the final Aces player in double-figures with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting including four made three-pointers.

“I think last year – maybe the last two years were the only years that I didn’t shoot it as well from the three-point line,” she said. “Coming into this year, I wanted it to be a thing where [defenses] didn’t leave me.”