The Las Vegas Aces entered Sunday as the WNBA’s top first-half scoring team, but their second-half struggles had been a recurring issue. After a loss to Dallas on Thursday, coach Becky Hammon promised to address the problem, and her team delivered a 91-81 victory over the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center.
A’ja Wilson led the way with 28 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Jackie Young snapped out of a shooting slump, hitting five 3-pointers and finishing with 23 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. The Aces improved to 5-3, matching the Valkyries’ record.
“We’re still figuring out how good we can be,” Hammon said. “We’ve been working really hard on our defense. We’ve got to continue to work on that, but today was a good start.”
The first half featured 12 lead changes and no lead larger than five points. Golden State hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter, but Wilson scored 13 points in the half, and her free throw with 36 seconds left gave Las Vegas a 43-41 halftime edge.
The turning point came in the third quarter. Las Vegas scored the first seven points to go up 50-41, then Young erupted for 11 points in just over two minutes late in the period. Her 15-foot jumper with 2:02 left pushed the lead to 68-50. The Aces outscored the Valkyries 29-13 in the quarter, leading by as many as 24.
“When we look back at the games we lost, when we look at the games we could be better, it’s the second half that really took us out of games,” Wilson said. “We wanted to make sure we could string together quarters, particularly in the third quarter. It has not been our best.”
Young’s outburst helped her surpass 3,500 career points. She became the 24th player in league history to combine 3,500 points with 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists.
“I trust her work,” Hammon said of Young. “Sometimes I think I trust her work more than she trusts her work. It was just a typical Jackie game.”
NaLyssa Smith started in place of Jewell Loyd (leg injury) and contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, scoring seven in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas held Golden State to 34 percent shooting and forced 12 turnovers.
Hammon earned her 150th career coaching victory, becoming the second-fastest to reach that milestone. “I didn’t really know about the landmark,” she said. “I think what jumps off the page more than anything is not just the wins but how much I enjoy the process.”
Golden State emptied its bench in the fourth quarter, and the reserves sparked an 11-0 run with hot 3-point shooting, cutting the deficit to single digits. But Wilson hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 20 points and four rebounds.
The Aces finish their road trip against the Los Angeles Sparks at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
