Aces off to races with victory, franchise-best start
Tom Brady knows a thing or two about what makes a championship team.
After watching the Aces roll past the Connecticut Sun 89-81 Tuesday night at Michelob Ultra Arena, Brady made his thoughts known on Twitter.
“First class basketball,” he wrote.
It was more than first class. The Aces beat the Eastern Conference leaders behind 24 points from star forward A’ja Wilson. Coach Becky Hammon remained undefeated at home. And the Aces’ win streak stretched to seven games.
The teams meet again at Michelob Ultra Arena at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Hammon’s historic start
Just 10 games into her coaching career and Hammon continues to break records.
The Aces’ 9-1 start to the season is the best in franchise history, and makes Hammon the most successful rookie coach in WNBA history through her first 10 games. Michael Cooper led the Los Angeles Sparks to a 8-2 record in 2000.
“I think the most encouraging thing to me is their ability to learn,” Hammon said.
The Aces also have impressed Hammon with their competitiveness. She said she is excited to see what they can achieve.
Aces push the pace
With less than three seconds remaining in the half, Aces veteran Chelsea Gray picked the pocket of Sun guard Courtney Williams.
Gray’s quick hands came up with the steal, and the former Duke star sprinted down the court, laying the ball in as time expired, giving the Aces a 10-point lead at halftime.
“When we play out of our defense, we become elite,” Hammon said.
The Aces outscored the Sun 22-2 in transition. Hammon’s team also forced 14 turnovers and had nine steals while mixing more zone into their defense and giving the Sun (6-3) different looks.Hammon said the Aces knew Connecticut was going to commit multiple players to crash the offensive boards, and felt if they rebounded well enough, they were going to have lots of opportunities on the break. Avoiding a set Sun defense, one of the best in the league, was also an advantage.
“I think we did a decent job,” Wilson said. “I think we had some mental lapses in there we need to fix, but at the end of the day we have to see them again Thursday.”
Wilson wins honors again
Two weeks ago, Wilson was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the seventh time in her career, tying her with Hammon for the most in franchise history. The Aces coach didn’t expect to stay tied for long.
“She won’t stay tied with me by next month, or maybe next week,” Hammon said.
The coach was right. Wilson won the award again Tuesday. During two games, both Aces wins, Wilson averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds.
The Aces have won all three of the Western Conference player of the week awards this season, with Wilson owning two and Jackie Young earning one.
Wilson scored 24 points on 9-for-19 shooting on Tuesday. She also had 14 rebounds and held reigning WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones to eight points. It was Wilson’s third consecutive game with at least 22 points.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.