Aces respond to adversity with blowout win over Dream
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
After a disappointment against the Chicago Sky to start a brutal five-game road trip, the Las Vegas Aces knew they needed to get any sort of momentum back in the worst way.
It turned out the tonic was ruining Barbie Night for Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream, as an angry Aces team rampaged to a 109-87 blowout victory on Monday.
Touch and go
While the Aces got their opportunities to start the game, the mistakes that haunted them in Chicago seeped into the first quarter against Atlanta.
Six turnovers prevented the Aces from getting any traction early on, even when the shots were falling. It would eventually come to a head at the end of the first quarter, when the Dream flipped an early Aces lead with a 7-0 run to finish in front after the first ten minutes.
No letting up
After a disappointing first, the sleeping giant finally decided to wake up.
The Aces would quickly take control with a dominant second quarter, outscoring the Dream 33-14 to turn a close game into a rout. Unlike the last time the Aces were in Atlanta, however, there would be no attempt at a comeback, as the defending champions refused to ease the pressure. This time, there was no doubt who the better team was, and the Aces needed a performance like that to get a bad taste out of their mouths.
“I think our defense was just really locked in,” credited A’ja Wilson for the turnaround. “We showed them different looks and we made it hard for them to get clean looks, and that was something we wanted to put an emphasis on.”
Triple Zeroes
Despite strong outings from Wilson, NaLyssa Smith and Chelsea Gray, the night belonged to Jackie Young.
Although Young would get caught up in the ebbs and flows of the game with a flagrant foul at the end of the first quarter, she turned on the jets after that and never looked back. It culminated in the third triple-double of her career, posting 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Even more impressive was Young’s willingness to space the floor, with her four three-pointers in the game matching the Dream’s total output.
“Shoutout to my teammates. Obviously, I wouldn’t be able to do it if it wasn’t for them,” said Young. “I just got there. Just play hard, make the right reads and just play good basketball.”
