3 takeaways from Aces’ 99-78 win over Connecticut Sun

Kayla McBride blamed the Aces’ loss to Chicago on Tuesday on their inability to make open perimeter shots when the Sky surrounded A’ja Wilson in the paint.

McBride was particularly hard on herself for missing easy shots, and she made sure not to make the same mistake again Thursday. She was 9-for-10 from the floor and 7-for-7 from the free-throw line for a season-high 25 points as the Aces rebounded with a 99-78 win over the Connecticut Sun at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

“It’s been a little bit of up and down, but it’s just about being what my team needs me to be,” McBride said. “Adding Angel (McCoughtry) and having A’ja, it’s about being that third head to the snake. That’s my job, and I haven’t been doing it to the best of my ability.”

The win was the eighth in nine games for the Aces (9-3), who got 21 points and seven rebounds from Wilson, 15 points and four steals from Dearica Hamby and 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists from McCoughtry.

Here’s three takeaways from the win:

Robinson’s record

The Aces’ bench has been a strength, and Danielle Robinson’s energy has been a big part of that.

On Thursday, she set a record. Robinson had nine assists in the first half, the most in WNBA history for a player off the bench in a half. She finished with nine assists without a turnover.

“It’s an obscure record. Who thinks of that stuff?” Las Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer said. “But I thought she played really well. She made some really thread-the-needle passes that were fun to watch and fortunately they weren’t turnovers.”

No letting down

When the Aces have built leads, they have had a tendency to let opponents get back into the game by getting away from their usual plan of attacking the basket — or, as Laimbeer calls it, “going two by two by two.”

“We think that’s been one of our downfalls in games,” Robinson said. “We get a lead and get comfortable, start taking quick shots, turning the ball over and letting them come back. We knew we had to continue to be aggressive so the same situation didn’t keep happening.”

The Sun had an 8-0 run in the first quarter, but never scored more than five in a row the rest of the game. That allowed the Aces to take control with a 28-15 edge in the second quarter for a 53-42 halftime lead. It was never a single-digit game in the second half.

Bottling up Bonner

DeWanna Bonner entered the game leading the Sun and was third in the league with 19.0 points per game.

In the first quarter, it appeared she was well on her way to eclipsing that mark with two three-point plays and a jumper for eight points. But she scored only two the rest of the way and finished 4-for-12 from the floor, including 0-for-4 from 3-point range.

Alyssa Thomas and Briann January scored 15 apiece to lead Connecticut.

Up next

The Aces will meet the league-leading Storm at noon Saturday. Seattle had its nine-game winning streak snapped by the Indiana Fever 90-84 on Thursday night.

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.