It seems illogical to say that any team with A’ja Wilson as a go-to player could use some scoring help. But there’s some doubt that the Las Vegas Aces have all the punch they need to threaten for another WNBA crown.
They’ll hope to take a step in the right direction on Friday night when they welcome the Washington Mystics to town for their home opener.
Las Vegas (1-1) is coming off an 87-62 win Tuesday night at Connecticut, where Wilson went for 22 points and 10 rebounds while major offseason acquisition Jewell Loyd nailed six 3-pointers and scored 20 points.
But Loyd, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray were ineffective in the season opener, a 92-78 defeat on Saturday at defending champion New York. While Wilson compiled 31 points and 16 boards, Loyd, Young and Gray made just 11 of 42 shots for a combined 33 points.
One player who isn’t worried about things yet is Wilson.
“Something I can go back to the drawing board and figure it out,” she said. “It’s just the beginning.”
While Wilson’s remaining trio of teammates hasn’t found the range yet, former Ace Kelsey Plum has with her new team. Plum is averaging 26.7 ppg with Los Angeles, making her 500th career 3-pointer Wednesday night.
As for Washington (2-1), it started a western road swing Wednesday night with a 76-74 loss to expansion Golden State. Poor shooting and ballhandling cost the Mystics as they hit just 25 of 66 attempts from the field while coughing up 18 turnovers.
Wasted in the defeat was a 30-point outing from Brittney Sykes, as well as a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double from rookie Kiki Iriafen. Sykes (26.3 ppg), Iriafen (13.7 ppg, 10.0 rebounds) and Sonia Citron (14.7 ppg) are taking care of the scoring load.
First-year Washington coach Sydney Johnson has been impressed with Iriafen’s early transition to the professional game.
“Her having a double-double when she’s probably not at her best says a lot about her as a player,” Johnson said.
Las Vegas won all three meetings of the teams last year by an average of 14.7 ppg.
–Field Level Media
