How will non-Olympic Aces players spend their time during break?
The concrete hallways surrounding Michelob Ultra Arena’s basketball court sounded just like the moments after the final school bell before summer vacation.
“Safe travels! What day do you leave?” an Aces staffer asked center Megan Gustafson.
“Thursday!” she shouted with a smile, barely breaking stride as she steamed toward the exit for the players’ parking lot.
The Aces had just finished their morning shootaround before a home matchup with the Chicago Sky on Tuesday, Las Vegas’ final game before dispersing for the All-Star and Olympic break. The team and its personnel knew they would be seeing one another in a few hours, but it was the final time they would go through their pregame routines together until their next game Aug. 17.
Gustafson is headed to Barcelona to represent Spain in the Olympics. She’s one of six Aces who will play in the Paris Games.
“Core Four” stars A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum will play for Team USA. The squad will use WNBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix as a nucleus for its training camp before going abroad. Tiffany Hayes, featured on Azerbaijan’s 3×3 team, will watch her teammates in Arizona before reporting for Olympic duties.
Time off
On Tuesday, there was an important question to ask the remainder of the Aces’ roster — the cardinal last day of school inquiry: “What are you doing over the break?”
For Alysha Clark, Sydney Colson, Kate Martin, Kierstan Bell and Kiah Stokes, the answers were reflective of the varying stages of their lives and careers.
Stokes, 31, is most looking forward to a major milestone. She bought her first house — a brand-new one — and now she can move in.
“I’ve been playing overseas for the last nine years straight, always been in team housing. So I never felt like I had a space that was really my own,” Stokes said. “All of my stuff from college and high school, I couldn’t take it with me. It’s just all been at my mom’s house.”
Clark, at 37 the second-oldest player in the WNBA, is going to try to keep her mind off the intense demands of competition for as long as she can.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a season player or a young player, (the compact season) still affects you in the same way,” Clark said. “So I’ll definitely use it to rest. Just work out, be in the gym and just spend time with family. Just get that mental break and that mental reset. I’m somebody that likes to be away from the game because I do better, because I’m an over-thinker, over-analyzer, and so just to be able to kind of shut my mind off for a little bit is always beneficial for me.”
In response to a question about how much time the non-Olympic Aces will spend at the Henderson practice facility during their time off, Colson made her plans clear.
“I’ll just be on vacation and supporting my teammates on TV,” she said.
Colson added that she obviously will work to stay in shape. But her main goal is to enjoy the Olympics and travel to a destination she hasn’t decided on. She said she especially likes watching track and field.
And while Colson’s answer might have sounded like someone ready to check out early, she was arguably the most locked-in Aces player during a 93-85 loss to the Sky.
She notched back-to-back steals in the fourth quarter, proving a spark the Aces needed to tie the score.
“I’m just going to do the same thing,” Colson said of the areas of her game she plans to focus on during the break. “Bring energy, defense.”
When asked what she will do during the break, Bell answered with a determined tone: “I will be at the facility, training.”
Martin injured in loss
Martin, a rookie from Iowa, mentioned earlier in the season that she hopes to spend time with family and finally move out of her apartment in Iowa City. It’s only been three months since her collegiate career ended as a national runner-up for the second consecutive season.
Martin suffered a lower right leg injury during Tuesday’s loss and didn’t return. The team has not released any information regarding her status.
For coach Becky Hammon, most of her time off will be focused on the Aces.
“I’ll probably go back and look at every game we’ve played thus far. Go back to the drawing board,” she said. “I’ll go over to Paris for a bit to catch some games, and then we’ll be back here.”
Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.