Aces prepare for WNBA Finals rematch with ‘detailed’ practice

Sydney Colson caught a glimpse of the doorway at the Aces’ practice facility Thursday and gave her teammates a disclaimer.

“The media’s here. Y’all need to give them something to talk about,” Colson said, shouting.

And as soon the team’s scrimmage resumed, that’s exactly what they did.

This wasn’t a normal scrimmage for the Aces. It was the back-to-back defending WNBA champions’ last workout in Las Vegas before traveling to the other side of the country to face the New York Liberty in the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs.

The Aces made sure to mimic their opponent’s schemes so they could make the right adjustments before Game 1 tips off Sunday.

“Are you (Liberty forward Leonie) Fiebich?” Tiffany Hayes said to one of her teammates during practice.

Later, point guard Chelsea Gray stopped play to ask, “(New York guard) Sabrina (Ionescu) takes that, right?” Gray then proceeded to explain what set the Liberty would likely run if Ionescu took the ball out.

The Aces tried to mimic the intensity they’ll face in New York as well.

Guard Kelsey Plum rammed into center Megan Gustafson hard at one point as she attempted to dribble the ball up the court, prompting cries of “take foul” from the bench.

“Pretend we’re in New York,” a voice said from the sideline.

The fouls continued throughout the scrimmage. Forward A’ja Wilson, who was named the WNBA’s MVP for the third time Sunday, said “We’re in Barclays (Center)” as she lined up before one of her teammates attempted a free throw.

Aces coach Becky Hammon said Thursday’s practice was “way more detailed than others.” She often stresses the importance of good habits, and said postseason success will take even more than the fundamentals.

“Now it’s about knowing your opponent and trying to take certain things away, living with certain other things and learning how to exploit them,” Hammon said. “We got their playbook. They got our playbook, At a certain point, it’s just about who executes better for the 40 minutes? Who wants it more? Who’s more focused? So, we want that to be us.”

The Aces defeated the Liberty in four games in the 2023 WNBA Finals, but couldn’t notch a single win in the regular-season series this year.

New York won all three meetings between the two teams, though it only won 75-71 at home with Wilson out on Sept. 8.

Wilson was happy with the Aces’ effort in Thursday’s practice, even with the fouling. The team is trying to build momentum after sweeping Seattle in two games in the first round. Wilson believes the group is getting “in tune” with each other just in time.

“I feel like sometimes after we have an off day, we’re a little sluggish,” she said. “But this practice, I think we came in understanding the assignment, and that was executing — making sure we know that when we go into Barclays we’re not gonna get calls, knowing that no one’s gonna like us, knowing that we can’t be us in a sense, we have to change up some things and be more disciplined. And I think we saw that today in practice.”

Wilson said while the Aces are exhausted, they understand all four of the WNBA’s remaining teams feel the same way. The Aces’ travel to the East Coast will add an extra toll, but they’re doing everything they can to stay fresh.

The team will arrive in New York on Friday to give players additional time to adjust before Sunday’s noon start.

“There’s adjusting to the time change, but also adjusting from flying,” general manager Natalie Williams said. “Saturday’s really our only practice. We’re not practicing on a Sunday morning shootaround because the game’s so early.”

Williams said the Aces will prioritize recovery once they land. Hammon gave her team a similar message after Thursday’s practice.

“Get your mind right. Do what you need to do,” Hammon said. “We’re going to New York a little early — don’t be out and about. All that matters is winning.”

Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.