FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Sky - Game 9 - 2022

FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Sparks – Game 9 – 2022

Franchise Sports Media

Las Vegas Aces (8-1)  |  Chicago Sky (4-3)

For the eighth time this season, the Las Vegas Aces had five players score in double figures and for the eighth time this season, the Aces earned a victory. Their 83-76 win over the defending champion Chicago Sky moved the Aces to 8-1 on the season and dropped the Sky to 4-3. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the game.

Basketball can be a complicated game to understand. There’s matchup-hunting, offensive and defensive schemes, analytics, and data — things that coaches and players study to gain a competitive advantage on the court. But basketball can also be relatively straightforward. No matter how many matchups you exploit or high-percentage shots you take, it’s all about the scoreboard. Did you score more points than the other team? If so, you win. This is the simplest way to summarize the Aces‘ game against Chicago on Saturday — they won.

Nothing about the Aces‘ 83-76 win was pretty. Ok, well, maybe a little stretch of basketball. Las Vegas opened up a lead as big as 18 points thanks to a dominant seven-minute stretch that ran from the final couple of minutes of the second quarter to the middle of the third. The spurt of dominance included the typical Aces things that have continued to make them look like championship favorites — dispersed scoring throughout the rotation and smothering defense on the other end. And although relatively brief, in the scope of a 40-minute game, that little run was everything Vegas needed to control the game.

But one could also make the case that the game was won by the Aces getting their hands dirty. They only shot 4/40 from deep and made just 36.9 percent of their shots, which were both season lows. Vegas‘ 83 points were also the fewest it scored in a win thus far in 2022. However, the team’s defense led Becky Hammon‘s squad to victory. It held the Sky to 5/31 from three and 34.6 percent from the field and forced them into 12 turnovers.

Hammon had previously preached the importance of her quad’s defense, even slight some historic offensive outings in the process. She knew that the team would have a cold night from the floor at some point, and it would need to rely on its defensive principles to hold steady.

Size 'em, rise on 'em 🔥@cgray209 // #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/o78JwBhgvL

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) May 28, 2022

No matter how you slice it, Las Vegas earned their eighth win of the season to stay atop the WNBA standings. The Aces also proved it could win when its offense isn’t firing on all cylinders. Such performances should evoke even more confidence in the team that it can win on any given night. Their ceiling is incredibly high.

KEY PERFORMERS:

A’ja Wilson – 22 PTS, 16 REBS, 1 STL, 1 BLK

Kelsey Plum – 19 PTS, 3 REBS, 8 ASTS, 2/4 3PT

Chelsea Gray – 18 PTS, 6 ASTS, 1 STL, 1 BLK

Dearica Hamby – 14 PTS, 14 REBS, 1 STL

Jackie Young – 10 PTS, 7 REBS, 6 ASTS, 1 STL, 1 BLK

Las Vegas will a couple of days off to rest and prepare for a big game to end the month. They’ll return to Michelob ULTRA Arena to face the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, May 31st, and you can catch the game live at 6:00 pm PST on ESPN. Check back with us after the game for a recap and analysis.

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-Cole Huff– Franchise Sports Media