FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Lynx - Game 20 - 2022

FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Lynx – Game 20 – 2022

Franchise Sports Media

Las Vegas Aces (15-5)  |  Minnesota Lynx (6-15)

 

The Las Vegas Aces bounced back from Wednesday’s loss to the Seattle Storm by going into Target Center and coming away with a 91-85 victory over the Minnesota Lynx. Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum led the way and momentarily put the Aces back atop the WNBA standings.

 

On Wednesday, June 22nd, a duo of LaChina Robinson and Jorge Sedano went live on ESPN to reveal the WNBA‘s 2022 All-Star Game starters. A week later, Robinson, joined by Las Vegas Aces‘ TV color analyst Carolyn Peck, took the ESPN set to name the reserves that would round out the All-Star Game roster.

In the two segments combined, four Aces were named — A’ja Wilson (starter), Kelsey Plum (starter), Jackie Young (starter), and Dearica Hamby (reserve).

While four is excellent, there should have been a fifth — the deserving Chelsea Gray.

But the reality is that Gray didn’t make it. And whether the snubbing ticked her off, she played as though she was on Friday night.

Simply put, the “Point Gawd” placed the Las Vegas Aces on her back and carried them to the finish line in their 91-85 win over the Minnesota Lynx.

 

Gray finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists, but quite frankly, the numbers don’t do the performance justice. It was all about the timing. Whether it was Minnesota guard Rachel Banham knocking down a big 3-pointer to cut into the Aces‘ lead, or Moriah Jefferson leading the Lynx on a late-game run, Gray was there to answer the bell. She bullied smaller defenders in the post and continuously got to the elbows for her patented fadeaway jumpers — each one sucking a little bit more life and momentum out of the arena than the one before.

Gray‘s performance was easily her best of the year, and it came precisely when the team needed it most.

“We were in a rough patch, probably still in a rough patch, but we’re finding ways to grind it out,” said Wilson after the game. “We’re figuring things out. It’s not going to be pretty. A lot of things aren’t going to be pretty. But at the end of the day, we are pros at what we do, and we are good at what we do, so we just have to execute.”

Of course, the rough patch that Wilson was alluding to was the Aces‘ having lost three of four games before their Friday contest against the Lynx, a rough patch that set Vegas back in the standings. And as Gray helped push the team pack into the win column, the Aces will face Minnesota again on Sunday, and you can bet that Cheryl Reeve’s squad will be locked in and ready to avenge its loss.

TOP PERFORMERS:

 

Chelsea Gray (Aces) – 21 PTS, 6 REBS, 5 ASTS, 2 STLS, 1 BLK

Kelsey Plum (Aces) – 18 PTS, 10 ASTS, 3/8 3PT

Moriah Jefferson (Lynx) – 20 PTS, 3 ASTS, 2 STLS, 2/3 3PT

Rachel Banham (Lynx) – 24 PTS, 4 ASTS, 6/8 3PT

 

Las Vegas has a quick turnaround and will stay in Minneapolis to face this same Minnesota Lynx squad on Sunday, July 3rd. You can watch the game on Prime Video at 4:00 pm PST before checking back with us after the game for a recap and analysis.

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-Cole Huff– Franchise Sports Media