Aces collapse late with MVP out, close road trip with loss to Mystics

Aces point guard Chelsea Gray briefly hesitated before she inbounded the ball after Washington Mystics forward Shakira Austin had a putback layup with 39 seconds left to play Thursday.

It was as if Gray needed a moment to process the clutch bucket, which put the Mystics up 69-68 at EagleBank Arena, even though Austin had three Aces surrounding her in the paint.

Coach Becky Hammon called a timeout in response. The Aces, who once led by 15 points in the third quarter, couldn’t muster another point and lost 70-68. The Mystics ended the game on a 12-2 run.

The Aces (9-11) had chances to tie it. Guard Jackie Young missed a layup after Hammon’s timeout. The Mystics got the rebound, but then guard Jewell Loyd stole the ball back. Gray missed a jumper, got her own rebound and then turned it over with Washington rookie Sonia Citron defending her.

The Aces had one more shot after sending the Mystics to the free-throw line, but Young missed another layup before time expired.

Reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson watched the collapse from the bench. She sat out the game after suffering a right wrist sprain in Tuesday’s loss to the New York Liberty.

Loyd led the team with 20 points in Wilson’s absence, while Gray scored 13 points. Guard Dava Evans had 11 points off the bench and Young scored 10.

The Aces finished 2-3 on their five-game road trip with the loss. They return home Saturday to host the Golden State Valkyries at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“All we can do is come back and work, continue to build our habits,” Loyd said. “I think our energy has been really good. … Now it’s just breaking down the game and winning the four-minute to five-minute games within the game.”

Gray’s thoughts were similar. She said the Aces simply fell apart in short stretches toward the end.

“Our communication at the point of attack was a little bit tough,” Gray said. “And so sometimes the first 10 to 15 seconds of our defense was really, really solid. And then we had lapses (in) the last eight to 10 seconds. So we just got to be better there.”

Guard Brittney Sykes had 18 points for the Mystics (10-10), who are 2-1 against the Aces this season.

No timeline for Wilson

Hammon said before the game there is no timeline for Wilson’s return.

“I don’t have many details,” Hammon said. “It’s sprained. Nothing’s broken.”

Wilson, 28, was hurt after going down hard on a drive to the basket in the first half Tuesday. She underwent an MRI on Wednesday and was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report.

Wilson was seen wearing a black wrist brace as she participated in her team’s shootaround Thursday morning at EagleBank Arena. She was ruled out soon after.

“My conversations with her are, ‘Let’s just let it heal correctly the first time, so we’re not dealing with it all year,’” Hammon said. “Obviously, she’s a competitor. She cares about this team and wants to be a part of everything that goes on. But unfortunately sometimes as a coach, you just have to make the bigger judgment call and go against their competitive nature and just sit them, because that’s what’s best. Doesn’t feel good in the moment for them or me, but her health is more important than any one game.”

Wilson leads the Aces in almost every statistical category this season, including points (20.7), rebounds (8.7), steals (1.7) and blocks (2.4) per game.

She missed three games earlier this season after sustaining a concussion in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11. The Aces went 2-1 in her absence.

The team did get center Megan Gustafson back from an ankle injury Thursday. Gustafson had four points in 22 minutes in her season debut.

Hammon blasts officials

The Aces played their worst in the third quarter.

They were outscored 23-15 in the period, shot 1-of-7 from the 3-point line and had four turnovers to the Mystics’ one.

The Aces finished just 3-of-25 from 3, though Washington (2-of-11) wasn’t much better. The Mystics also had a 44-38 advantage in points in the paint.

Hammon said the Aces “didn’t set the right tone” in the third quarter, but criticized the referees for not calling the game tighter.

“I thought the officiating was awful. Jackie Young got fouled at 33 seconds on that layup, no call,” Hammon said. “I have no idea what that was. It was awful. Our defense was probably similarly awful, though.”

Hammon successfully challenged two calls on the night, but reached the maximum number of challenges. She said she wished she could’ve “challenged seven more calls.”

The Aces had to finish the game without forward NaLyssa Smith, who fouled out with 1:48 to play.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.