A pair of familiar foes will match up Tuesday when the Los Angeles Sparks play host to the Las Vegas Aces as both teams open their Commissioner’s Cup schedules.
It will be the third meeting over the first nine games for each team, with the Aces winning the first meeting 105-78 on the road May 10, while the Sparks got their revenge with a 101-95 victory at Las Vegas on May 23.
The loss started Las Vegas (5-3) on a two-game skid that ended Sunday with a 91-81 road victory over the Golden State Valkyries. A’ja Wilson scored 28 points and amassed 15 rebounds, while Jackie Young added 23 points with nine assists.
The two-time defending champion Aces held a 43-41 lead at halftime then took control by outscoring the Valkyries 29-13 in the third quarter. Golden State was held to 18.8% from the floor in the third.
Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon became the second fastest WNBA head coach to 150 wins.
“When we look back at the games we lost, when we look at the games we could be better, it’s the second half that really took us out of games,” Young said. “We wanted to make sure we could string together quarters, particularly in the third quarter. It has not been our best.”
When the Sparks defeated the Aces just over a week ago, they had a 26-21 scoring advantage in the third quarter and put up 55 second-half points.
That victory for Los Angeles came amid a season-best three-game winning streak that seemed to validate Kelsey Plum’s promise after a slow start that the Sparks would be a playoff contender.
But Los Angeles was humbled 84-81 on the road Saturday as the Connecticut Sun earned just their second victory of the season. Plum missed the game because of a right ankle sprain, which occurred during practice last week.
The Sparks will be without their leader in points (26.8) and assists (6.3) again on Tuesday.
“We’ve got a team of really steady vets and some young players that are following their lead,” Los Angeles head coach Lynne Roberts said. “There hasn’t been an ounce of panic or, ‘Oh my gosh,’ or anything like that. We gotta get out there and play.”
Dearica Hamby, who is second on the Sparks with 17.0 points per game, was held to just 11 against the Sun on 4-of-13 shooting. Rae Burrell and Ariel Atkins led Los Angeles with 16 points each.
–Field Level Media
