Aces crush Dallas Wings in first game after break
Aces center Liz Cambage scored six points on 1-of-12 shooting against her former team Tuesday night, thereby snapping her streak of 50 consecutive games in double-figure scoring.
And yet Las Vegas crushed the Dallas Wings, anyway.
Ho-hum for the best defensive team in the WNBA.
The Aces resumed their season with a decisive 86-54 victory over the Wings before an announced crowd of 3,756 at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Forward Dearica Hamby continued her immaculate play in relief of the injured A’ja Wilson, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds and two steals in her third consecutive start.
All 10 active players scored for the Aces (14-6), who opened the game with an 18-6 run and held the Wings (5-15) to 28.6 percent shooting.
Business as usual.
“People always talk about the post-All-Star hangover,” Hamby said. “I think we did a really good job of setting the tempo really early and playing good defense.”
The Aces, after a sluggish start, have established themselves as a legitimate championship contender, and developed a palpable chemistry and confidence. They’ve won 12 of their last 15 games to surge atop the standings, and opened the second half of their season by demolishing an outmatched Dallas outfit that’s lost 17 consecutive road games — dating back to last season.
Hamby in the first half attacked the glass, ran the floor and posted eight points and nine rebounds while helping the Aces to a 42-27 halftime lead. Tamera Young came off the bench and made 6 of 7 shots to finish with 18 points, and reserve center Carolyn Swords added 10 points and six rebounds in extended playing time as the starters ceded most of the second half to the backups.
No Aces player logged more than 25 minutes.
“What we did tonight is what we were supposed to do. Win the basketball game by two or 32, it doesn’t really matter,” Las Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer said. “I’m very happy for our bench. Got to give them a lot of time. There aren’t many games in this league where you can really play extended bench minutes like we did today. (Gives) them some confidence.”
The Aces depart on Wednesday for the first of three games over the next five days. They play at the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday and at Dallas on Saturday, and complete their postponed matchup against the Washington Mystics on Monday night at T-Mobile Arena.
No rest for the weary. Or in this case, the rested.
“We know what’s at stake. We know what our ultimate goal is,” Young said. “We can’t (relax). A lot of times you kind of relax when you come off of the break. We have experienced players. … We brought the energy.”
Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 14 points.
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.