‘A different joy:’ Aces hitting their stride before crucial road trip

There’s arguably no better gauge of a team’s vibes than the first impressions of a new presence in the locker room.

For the Aces, that’s Queen Egbo.

The team signed the third-year center Monday. By Tuesday, she was laughing with the rest of the Aces at shootaround before a game against the Chicago Sky at T-Mobile Arena.

The subsequent 90-71 home win was the team’s third straight victory following a 2-4 skid coming out of the Olympic break. The Aces (21-12), despite the ups and downs, now hold sole possession of fourth place in the WNBA standings.

The team’s looseness at this point of the season may come as a surprise to some. It certainly was different than what Egbo was expecting.

“Coming in, they were really warm and welcoming,” Egbo said after Tuesday’s shootaround. “Jackie (Young’s) a lot funnier than I thought she would be. She’s really goofy and that caught me off guard. Obviously, they’re a veteran team, but they have fun.”

Soon after — as if on cue – Young, nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” strolled through T-Mobile’s tunnels with A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray. The group had a large speaker blasting R&B music in tow.

Young made direct eye contact with a group of teammates conducting interviews as she lip-synced her way past. It was an example of what Gray and reserve Sydney Colson would later say: The Aces’ team spirit hasn’t waned despite the challenges this season has presented.

“You see how they’re still rolling by with the music,” Colson said. “That’s been the thing about this group. We’ve struggled a lot and we know a lot of it has been self-inflicted. We just hadn’t figured it out yet. But I think these past two games, there’s been a different energy about us. There’s been a different joy on the court.”

The Aces are now taking that joy on the road for a four-game trip, which begins Friday against the Connecticut Sun.

‘In a good space’

Colson is known for bringing humor to the locker room. So much so that she was tapped to perform during the comedy show “Wild n’ Out” at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday.

She made sure to make her teammates the butt of the joke when they joined her onstage.

“This is my team, we the Las Vegas Aces,” Colson sang, “if we keep losing games, we gon’ be in last place.”

Wilson, the favorite for WNBA MVP, looked stunned by the punchline. She and veteran guard Alysha Clark eventually smiled and shook their heads.

Colson said Tuesday something coach Becky Hammon has said all season: The Aces are close off the court, but “something wasn’t clicking on.”

Hammon said the team wasn’t trusting one another enough. The Aces increased their on-court celebrations during recent wins against the Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury, leading Colson to say she believes their connection is “back.”

Gray likewise said the team is “in a good space right now.”

‘Sense of urgency’

The Aces remain under pressure despite their morale being high.

They remain just one game ahead of the Seattle Storm (20-13) in the WNBA standings. Finishing fourth or higher is important because it means getting home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Aces will also be tested Friday against the Sun (24-9), who are in second place.

The back-to-back defending WNBA champions can keep having fun down the stretch. But assistant coach Tyler Marsh told the Aces to make sure to focus as well.

“It’s not time to panic, but we do need to have a sense of urgency,” he said.

Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.