3 takeaways: Aces mount late rally, win with Wilson sidelined — PHOTOS
The final buzzer was far from sounding, but a large group of Aces fans throughout Michelob Ultra Arena gathered their belongings, said goodbye to their neighbors and headed for the exits.
For them, it didn’t matter that the Aces had called a timeout to talk about their plan to use the remaining 3 minutes and 55 seconds and come back from an 11-point deficit.
With 28.3 seconds remaining, Jewell Loyd made the go ahead 3-pointer to prove the fans wrong.
The Aces, without star A’ja Wilson (concussion protocol), rallied in the final four minutes to defeat the Dallas Wings 88-84 on Friday.
“This game in particular, we were all very talkative. Through the good, the bad third quarter, all those things — we were still engaged,” Loyd said. “And there was a belief that we were gonna win this game.”
Jackie Young led the Aces (5-4) with 28 points, while Loyd scored a season-high 21. Chelsea Gray added 13 points and the assist to create Loyd’s clutch shot.
Arike Ogunbowale had 26 points for the Wings (1-11). Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, had 16 points but shot 7-for-19 from the field.
Aces coach Becky Hammon didn’t spend much time criticizing her team for almost helping the league’s worst team break a losing streak that has now reached seven games.
“We won the game, barely,” she joked. “But as long as I can see us making progress in keeping the belief in each other … This is a process. This stuff just doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why you play 44 games.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Loyd breaks out
Loyd was averaging fewer than three field goals per game and shooting a career-low 29.9 percent from the field entering Friday’s game. Despite the struggles, she recorded the Aces’ first eight points against the Wings and continued to explode for 16 points by halftime.
It was nearly a season high if she stopped there — and for a moment, it seemed like she would, as she was held scoreless in the third quarter.
But in addition to the clutch final 3-pointer, Loyd made two free throws in the fourth quarter as part of an Aces run that saw the team outscore the Wings from the charity stripe.
Loyd, Young and Gray were all part of the 10-0 stretch from the free-throw line in the final three minutes, cutting an 11-point deficit to 82-81.
By the end of the quarter, the Aces had outscored the Wings 24-14 with just three made field goals, closing on a 17-2 run. Their 17 free throws were more than the Wings’ entire offensive production in those 10 minutes.
2. Disastrous third quarter
With seven points, Young was the only Aces starter to score in the third quarter, a period that almost cost them the game.
After the Aces went to halftime with a 49-40 lead, the Wings opened the third quarter on a blistering 18-0 run that saw the Aces give up five consecutive turnovers. By the end of the period, the Aces had 10 turnovers, allowing the Wings to outscore them 30-15.
“We clearly were throwing it to the other team,” Hammon said. “On the defensive end, our worst quarter was really by our first five.”
While being blunt on the starters’ shortcomings in the third quarter, Hammon credited the bench, which went from scoring three points last game to contributing 18 against the Wings.
“Our bench was very impactful tonight. I had gotten on them pretty hard after the last game, and they showed up,” Hammon said.
The effort was highlighted by rookie Aaliyah Nye, who had only five points but recorded a staggering +18 in the box score. Although the official stats credit Gray for it, her Loyd and Young noted that Nye snagged the rebound that set up the final shot.
3. Wilson watching
Wilson was ruled out hours before tipoff after initially being listed as doubtful following a hit she took to the face in the Aces’ 97-89 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday.
The team said she is in concussion protocol, but she still snuck into the arena to watch her team. Broadcast cameras caught her wearing an oversized hoodie and sunglasses as she took in the game from a private box with her boyfriend, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo.
Young said she knew Wilson was there, leading her to point at her during warmups as a “thank you” for her support.
“We knew that everyone was gonna have to step up without having her. She carries a big load for us every night,” Young said. “You’re not gonna replace her, but everybody just has to do a little bit more. And I think everybody did that tonight.”
The three-time WNBA MVP is leading the Aces in every major statistical category: points (20.9 per game), rebounds (9.6), assists (4.0), steals (2.0) and blocks (2.6).
“A’ja has given us basically three MVP years and was healthy. Although we always want her out there, I’m OK with her taking a second to reset and get her body right,” Hammon said. “I don’t want to rush her back at all. It’s about winning games in September.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
