3 takeaways: Aces’ defense disappears in blowout loss to Lynx
Aces coach Becky Hammon walked into an apparently empty media room following a 109-78 loss to the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center in Minneapolis.
“Where are all the cameras? Where is everybody?” Hammon asked a team staffer before taking her seat.
The faux curiosity was a sardonic reminder of just how far the Aces (12-13) have fallen from the highs of winning back-to-back WNBA championships in Hammon’s first two seasons at the helm.
The 2025 Aces are familiar with blowout defeats, but this was the worst so far — a 31-point defeat to add to the team’s six losses decided by at least 20 points this season.
There were six lead changes in the first quarter, but the Lynx closed it on a 15-4 run to establish a 27-18 lead and never trailed again.
Hammon said she knew the game had essentially ended shortly after the third quarter began.
“We couldn’t get any stops. The defense was atrocious,” Hammon said. “There’s no ifs — it was atrocious.”
Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 15 points, and guard Jackie Young added 14. Neither of them played in the fourth quarter as the Lynx established a 24-point lead entering the final frame.
“I’m not putting them in a 25-point game,” Hammon said.
Napheesa Collier had 25 points and Courtney Williams scored 23 points for the Lynx (22-4), which remain undefeated at home this season.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Jewell Loyd low
For stretches in the second half and most of the fourth quarter, veteran guard Jewell Loyd was the Aces’ only starter on the court. She finished without a single point in 21 minutes of play, going 0-for-10 from the field with four 3-point attempts.
Foul trouble impacted her utilization early. She was already up to three fouls after eight minutes, forcing her to head to the bench two minutes into the second quarter.
Loyd is the highest-paid player on the Aces’ roster after she was acquired in the three-team trade that sent Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Loyd is averaging 10.9 points per game, a career-worst since her rookie year.
Hammon has been consistently optimistic about Loyd’s fit with the team. After alluding to the entire team being a collective 38 percent from the field on the night, she admitted that something with Loyd will have to change.
“She’s not out there trying to miss shots. Nobody’s out there trying to miss shots,” Hammon said. “Obviously, she’s in a little rut. And we’ve got to find a way to work her out of it.”
2. Wilson watches against MVP competition
Collier has led the MVP conversation this season, while Wilson is often included as a dark horse due to the Aces’ struggles.
The competition seemed pretty balanced through the first half. Wilson had 11 points and Collier had 13. They were both 3-of-7 from the field, but Collier had two more free-throw attempts.
Hammon took such issue with the officiating and drew a technical foul nearly seven minutes into the third quarter. She was frustrated because she thought Williams fouled Wilson on a loose ball play.
“It impacted her ability to get the ball. Just knocked her off her route,” Hammon said. “It was too rough.”
Ultimately, Wilson ended up going 5-of-6 from the free throw line, while Collier was 10-of-13. The Aces committed more fouls, 27 to the Lynx’s 18.
Despite her team’s struggles, Wilson found a silver lining in the loss.
“I don’t want to be on the bench,” Wilson said. “Obviously, I’m not pleased with the game. It sucks to lose like this. But at the same time, I feel like it just allowed our bench to kind of get acclimated and moving and see and see what they can do.”
The three-time MVP credited Kierstan Bell for leading the bench in scoring with nine points and making a difference with her energy. She also praised Dana Evans, who finished with eight points, for consistently getting downhill with the ball in her minutes.
3. Scheduling only part of the issue
The loss was the Aces’ second in two days, coming less than 24 hours after an 80-70 defeat at the Indiana Fever on Thursday night. The Aces’ four-game road trip continues Sunday at the Dallas Wings.
Pregame, Hammon admitted that the tough scheduling stretch might play a role in her team’s performance. But she had a larger issue once the final buzzer sounded: a lack of communication and discipline on the defensive end.
When asked if fatigue impacted the defensive effort, Hammon pushed back.
“I think it’s a factor. I don’t think it tells the whole story,” she said. “The greats handle hard well, and we have not handled hard well.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.