Aces’ ‘bench mob’ stood up when needed to claim repeat WNBA title

NEW YORK — Becky Hammon needed to make a call.

The Aces coach had decided Cayla George, the Australian center who had spent much of the season biding her time and waiting for an opportunity, was getting the start for Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.

Hammon didn’t have much of a choice. The Aces were decimated following their Game 3 loss to the New York Liberty. All-Star point guard Chelsea Gray and ever-reliable center Kiah Stokes were ruled out of Game 4 with foot injuries.

As Hammon delivered the news to George about the lineup change, she asked where the veteran was at the moment. George’s answer surprised her.

“She said, ‘I’m in the weight room,’” Hammon said. “It’s the last day — this is coming up on the last day of the season — and this girl’s in the weight room at 7:30 at night with her (husband) pumping iron.”

It’s no secret Hammon rarely turned to her bench during the regular season. Outside of the team’s starting five, 2023 Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Clark and Candace Parker were the only players to average more than 12 minutes per game.

Yet when Hammon and the Aces needed them most, the team’s “bench mob” stepped up in a massive way, as they helped the team clinch a second consecutive championship with a 70-69 win Wednesday in Game 4 at Barclays Center.

“They are a special group,” Hammon said.

George, making her first start of the season, had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Her three 3s led the Aces. Veteran guard Sydney Colson also played 15 big minutes, finishing plus-17 and scoring two points.

Clark also moved into a starting role and contributed 10 points. Additionally, she took defensive responsibility for former Seattle Storm teammate Breanna Stewart, who made just three of her 17 field-goal attempts.

Clark got the key stop on the Liberty’s final possession, too, stonewalling Stewart on the right elbow and forcing the reigning league MVP to pass, which eventually led to Courtney Vandersloot’s miss from the left corner.

Clark, George and Colson were part of a phenomenal overall defensive effort for the Aces, who held the Liberty to 36.1 percent shooting. New York, the league’s premier 3-point shooting team, went 9-for-26 (34.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

Defensive rating for players is the amount of points a player would theoretically give up in 100 defensive possessions. For context, A’ja Wilson had a defensive rating of 96.8 during the regular season en route to being named the Defensive Player of the Year. Stokes’ 95.2 rating led all Aces players who played more than 20 games.

In 37 minutes during Game 4, Clark posted a defensive rating of 91.8. George was second on the team with an 80.6 defensive rating in more than 30 minutes. Colson led all Aces players with an almost unbelievable 53.3 defensive rating.

Clark said fans and media don’t see the work the Aces reserves put in during the season to be prepared for this moment. The former all-defensive team selection said she regularly studies film with Colson, and took offense to people not believing in the team’s bench unit ahead of Game 4.

“I ride for my bench mob,” Clark said. “Their professionalism to accept a role … people forget that you accepting a role doesn’t mean it’s the only role you’re capable of.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.