Aces ‘super excited’ to debut new starting lineup in preseason opener

The Aces, in a time of change across the WNBA, enter their first preseason game of the year Friday with at least one source of certainty: Their starting lineup.

The team is traveling to Indiana to face the Dallas Wings at Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion after four days of training camp practices. The matchup will serve as an introduction to the Aces’ new starting five featuring former Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd, who the club acquired in a blockbuster three-team trade in January that sent guard Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks. The hope is Loyd can help the team compete for its third title in four seasons.

She joins a starting five that includes mainstays A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, as well as veteran center Kiah Stokes.

“There’s no doubt that Chelsea, Jackie and A’ja are super excited to play with Jewell,” coach Becky Hammon said. “There’s a very elite group of players, and she’s one of them. So to add her to our group, it’s been pretty seamless. She fits right in with what we’re trying to do. And I think we’re about to release a Jewell on the world that the world hasn’t quite seen.”

There were some questions over who would start at center for the Aces given their frontcourt struggles last year. But Hammon praised Stokes, who started 29 of the 39 games she played last season.

“We’ve won two championships with Kiah,” Hammon said.

Stokes averaged 1.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last year after her offseason was limited by a right foot injury that kept her out of Game 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals, when the Aces won their second straight championship.

“One thing that people don’t understand is that Kiah was less than a year out of surgery on her foot (last season),” Hammon said. “So we’re looking to get Kiah back to being Kiah: Rebound, run, knock down an open 3, you know, run out for a layup. I think her role is very defined, and I just need her to be great in that role, and we’ll be fine.”

Finding a balance

One of the Aces’ next orders of business will be seeing who makes the roster to join their starting five.

Hammon said 2024 second-round pick Elizabeth Kitley, a 6-foot-6 center who missed her rookie season with a knee injury, is cleared to play without restrictions. But the team announced Thursday that backup center Megan Gustafson is out indefinitely with a lower left leg injury.

Guard Dana Evans (left knee) and forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (pregnancy) are also out Friday.

The Aces hope to balance building cohesion between their starters and evaluating their depth during training camp. Their roster currently has 16 players, four above the WNBA maximum.

“I want to get as much chemistry with the group, but I want to get a decent look at our bench and what that will look like,” Hammon said. “We’re going in there and trying to get better, and that’s how we’re going to use it. Maybe get a feel for how we want to substitute. Just give different people an opportunity to show us what they’ve got. They’ve been showing us most of the time right here, but it’s different when the lights come on. Some people play better. Some people don’t.”

Hammon said forward Crystal Bradford, undrafted guard Deja Kelly and 2025 draftees Aaliyah Nye and Harmoni Turner could make a difference for the team this year.

Veteran guard Tiffany Mitchell, a former college teammate of Wilson’s, is also among those looking to impress Friday against the Wings. Mitchell said her goal is to give herself “some grace” no matter how the game goes.

“I literally just got done playing overseas last week. So coming into a whole new system and team, there’s going to be a little bit of a curve,” she said. “But I think, there’s so many great players making it a lot easier on me to remember things and fit in. I’m just excited to get on the court with them.”

Friday’s game will be the debut of Paige Bueckers, who the Wings took first overall in April’s draft after she helped lead UConn to a national championship.

It will also be a homecoming for Notre Dame alums Loyd, Young and Dallas star Arike Ogunbowale.

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