Cohesive defensive effort powers Aces past Seattle Storm

It’s Bill Laimbeer’s final directive before each Aces game: “Have fun,” the coach writes on the whiteboard inside the locker room — and they certainly didn’t do that Saturday during an 97-83 loss to the Seattle Storm.

But they played again Tuesday, and, well, they had a lot more fun.

“I made it a big point of emphasis today,” Laimbeer said. “The confidence kept building and building.”

The Aces flashed their championship potential in the rematch, earning a 96-80 victory over the defending WNBA champion Storm at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington. Jackie Young established a career high with 21 points to go with 10 rebounds, and teammate A’ja Wilson added 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

But it was Las Vegas’ defensive effort that impressed Laimbeer the most Tuesday night after a lackluster outing in the season opener.

“We’ve still got a long way to go,” he saidl. “We’re still learning each other, but I think overall our activeness on defense set the tone.

“It was a team effort. And that’s what we’re gonna be this year.”

The Aces had lost their previous four games to the Storm, dating to last year’s WNBA Finals and struggled on Saturday to handle Seattle’s ball and player movement. The perimeter trio of Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd is to tough cover, and the Aces were step too slow Saturday to limit their open looks.

But two days of practice seemed to help, and Las Vegas on Tuesday was more cohesive — communicating its various defensive coverages. The driving lanes shrunk, the 3-pointers weren’t as open and a spirited effort triggered more transition opportunities.

Young attacked the basket, earning eight free-throw attempts in the first quarter alone and free-agent addition Chelsea Gray was more comfortable in her second game with her new team. She helped dictate pace and tempo, finding open shooters and cutters en route to 11 points and seven assists.

Seattle (1-1) pulled within four at the end of the third quarter, but Liz Cambage opened the fourth with three baskets to help Las Vegas regain control before finishing with 18 points.

Laimbeer reaffirmed that the Aces that they might not hit their stride until after the Olympic break at the end of the summer.

But the victory Tuesday was a step in the right direction.

“It’s only the start,” Gray said. “We’ve got to bring that intensity every single night, and we’ll start to learn about each other.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.