The Las Vegas Aces are back at home on Tuesday after a turbulent five-game road trip, but the task at hand doesn’t get much easier with the emerging Washington Mystics coming to town for the first of two games.
The Aces went 2-3 during their road trip, punctuated by a 111-71 short-handed loss to the New York Liberty on Sunday. Coach Becky Hammon made the decision to rest stars A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray, in large part because of the unforgiving schedule the Aces have faced as of late. Tuesday’s game against Washington will be the Aces’ fourth in six days, all against teams on track to make the postseason.
“You’ve got to be as healthy and as fresh as possible, obviously, after going through a season,” Hammon said. “The health and safety of the players come first. Wherever we end up, we end up. We’ll play whatever hand is dealt to us. To me, this was just a bigger picture type scenario. You take the L, understanding that it pays dividends on the back end.”
Despite the lopsided score, Sunday’s game was somewhat valuable for the Aces because it allowed them to get more sense of their bench depth moving forward. With Jewel Loyd, Brianna Turner and Dana Evans promoted to the starting lineup, the Aces still scored 52 of their 71 points off the bench, with 47 of those points coming from rookies Ta’Niya Latson, Mai Yamamoto and Justine Pissot. Latson led the way with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Yamamoto tallied 16 and Pissot added 11.
The Mystics, on the other hand, have begun to look like a legitimately viable championship threat in recent weeks. Washington is riding a seven-game winning streak that’s taken the team from a fringe playoff contender to fifth in the league standings, posting an impressive 11-3 record since June 28.
One of those wins was a 100-99 home thriller over the Aces on July 22, where the Mystics overcame a nine-point deficit in the game’s final five minutes despite a 38-point performance from Wilson. Shakira Austin led the way with 25 points, converting a go-ahead three-point play with 12.8 seconds remaining to complete the comeback.
“That’s what this league is about,” Mystics coach Sydney Johnson said. “Those are the kind of reps and experience that we need. You’re going to play great players. Even your really good defense, A’ja’s going to knock them down. Chelsea’s going to knock them down. Jackie’s going to knock them down. You’ve got to make them work and try to make them as inefficient as possible.”
Austin has produced four consecutive double-doubles, averaging 23.8 points and 11.3 rebounds in that stretch.
The two sides will meet for the final time this season Thursday evening.
–Field Level Media
