It\u2019s been two months since Aces coach Becky Hammon\u2019s \u201chungry wolves\u201d were left licking their wounds after losing to the New York Liberty to open their season.<\/p>\n
As illustrated in the Aces\u2019 83-77 win over the Liberty at Michelob Ultra Arena on Wednesday, a lot has changed since then.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a reason Hammon expected her team to approach the 2025 season with a feral level of passion. She said she\u2019d counted down the days until she\u2019d get to face the Liberty again because of the way they ended the Aces\u2019 bid for three-straight WNBA championships in the semifinals last year.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Aces opened their season with a 92-78 loss on the Liberty\u2019s ring night on May 17. Hammon was faced with the realization that her team simply had \u201ca lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a slightly different roster, a new starting lineup and some defensive improvements, all that work was on display on Wednesday. The Aces outscored the Liberty 22-14 in the fourth quarter and outlasted 13 total lead changes to secure their first regular-season win against New York since August 17, 2023.<\/p>\n
Guard Jewell Loyd led the Aces (19-14) with 21 points off the bench on 5-for-9 shooting from the 3-point line. Reigning MVP A\u2019ja Wilson added 17 points and 16 rebounds in her team\u2019s fifth straight win.<\/p>\n
Loyd said afterward the Aces\u2019 work isn\u2019t done yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re constantly getting better. We want to get better. That\u2019s the thing,\u201d Loyd said. \u201cWe know we\u2019re not done evolving as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are three takeaways from the win:<\/p>\n
1. Loyd\u2019s bench spark<\/p>\n
Loyd scored at least 20 points for the third time since deciding to come out of the Aces\u2019 starting lineup following a loss to the Minnesota Lynx on July 25.<\/p>\n
She was averaging her fewest points per game since her rookie year before the switch. Now she\u2019s averaging 15.5 points per game as a reserve.<\/p>\n
Hammon said Loyd is still playing starter minutes but can get in a better flow off the bench. Loyd agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I just come in and try to get a rhythm, try to see what we need,\u201d Loyd said. \u201cBut honestly, it\u2019s just that I\u2019m just making shots, all my teammates are finding me and it\u2019s not anything different. I just want to help my team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Forward Kierstan Bell has taken Loyd\u2019s spot in the starting lineup since the change, but Hammon decided to start guard Dana Evans instead Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Hammon thought the Aces needed speed to combat Liberty guard Natasha Cloud and she said Evans brought that. Cloud did dribble right at Evans and score a layup the first possession of the game, but Evans responded at the other end with a 3.<\/p>\n
2. Wilson\u2019s rebounding<\/p>\n
Wilson\u2019s rebounding was huge for the Aces, especially in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
Seven of her 16 rebounds came in the final frame. Five of them were offensive boards that extended possessions for the Aces.<\/p>\n
Hammon said Wilson and the entire team have flourished after being given a green light to go for offensive rebounds this season. The Aces outrebounded the Liberty 39-30 overall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always prioritized transition defense in the past. Then I started doing some analytics, started studying some of the NBA teams and decided, screw the transition defense. Let\u2019s get more possessions,\u201d Hammon said. \u201cSo (offensive rebounding) has been a point of emphasis for our whole team to crash this year. \u2026 They\u2019ve been instructed to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. Stretch run<\/p>\n
Free agent pickup Emma Meesseman scored 24 points for the Liberty (21-12), who were without Breanna Stewart, Nyara Sabally and Isabelle Harrison due to injuries.<\/p>\n
New York coach Sandy Brondello said before the game that scheduling has played a role in her team\u2019s recent struggles. The Liberty also played Tuesday, defeating the Los Angeles Sparks 105-97 on the road.<\/p>\n
Hammon said she\u2019d be communicating with the Aces throughout their final 11 games to make sure they\u2019re managing their health over the stretch run. She and point guard Chelsea Gray, despite the win, were even keeled about where they stand at this point in the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just steady and poised in the locker room,\u201d Gray said. \u201cWe never get too high and too low. I mean, we had a couple lows this season. In the uncomfortable situations, you figure out who you are as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com.<\/a> Follow @CallieJLaw<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been two months since Aces coach Becky Hammon\u2019s \u201chungry wolves\u201d were left licking their wounds after losing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-68270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}