The Aces finished the regular season 21-13 and are expected to bring back the core that helped them become one of the WNBA’s best teams.
Sam Gordon
Dearica Hamby missed a potential game-tying corner 3-pointer Tuesday night, and the Aces fell 94-90 to the Washington Mystics in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals.
McBride has returned to All-Star form during the postseason, averaging 15.5 points on 51.4 percent shooting, including 50 percent 3-point shooting.
Liz Cambage and A’ja Wilson asserted their will early and often, combining to score 14 of their team’s first 16 points, and battered smaller opposing defenders.
The Aces extended the WNBA semifinals Sunday with a decisive win at Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Las Vegas trails 2-0 and is seeking to become the first team in WNBA history to win a series after losing the first two games.
Emma Meesseman led Washington in scoring in each of the first two games, and is shooting 62.1 percent from the field — including 63.6 percent from 3-point distance.
The Washington Mystics defeated the Aces on Thursday at Sports and Entertainment Arena to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five playoff series. Game 3 is Sunday in Las Vegas.
The 5-foot-8-inch guard is averaging 14.2 points and 4.7 assists on 47.1 percent shooting, including 48 percent on 3-pointers, in her last six games coming off the bench.
Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum was bumped on her potential game-tying 20-footer, but no foul was called and time expired.
The Aces chartered a plane to Washington, D.C., on Monday, under the direction of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who also made the allowance for the Los Angeles Sparks.
Cambage in four games against the Sky averaged 22.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and shot 56.4 percent from the field.
Dearica Hamby made a 3-pointer from near halfcourt with five seconds left in regulation Sunday afternoon to lift the Aces to a 93-92 playoff victory over the Chicago Sky at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury endured an impressive effort from underdog Otto Wallin before asserting his dominance in the latter rounds Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
The fifth-year forward averaged career highs of 11 points and 7.6 rebounds in 34 games, 25 of them as a reserve, and shot 48.8 percent from the field.