Aces Face Disappointing Loss at the Hands of Golden State

The Aces hit the road to San Francisco against the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday afternoon.

In the first quarter, the Aces started off with a little slow pace play as the Valkyries got off to an early lead, 6-9. Aaliyah Nye got to the free-throw line to tie the game, 11-11. Golden State restricted the Aces game in the paint. The Aces also turned over the ball six times. To Close out the quarter, the Valkyries led the Aces 15-13.

To start the second quarter, coach Becky Hammon said, “Of all the misses, we had some nice looks, so just have to believe that those numbers will turn.”

The Aces started to pick up a little steam but still struggled with connecting at the rim. The Valkyries managed to go on a 7-0 run with 6:21 left in the quarter. Chelsea Gray connected on a three-pointer to bring the Aces within reach of the Valkyries. With 2:52 left in half, Golden State continued to make shots, leading by as much as 12.

To close out the half, Kate Martin hit a long-range bomb after Jewell Loyd went 1-2 from the line. The Valkyries led 48-28.

In the second half, the Valkyries continued the onslaught on both ends of the ball. At the 7:00 mark of the quarter, Golden State was up by 29 points. The Aces continued to try to take the ball to the hoop and draw fouls.

The Aces tried to attack the basket but couldn’t get it done consistently. They did continue to draw fouls to chip away at Golden State’s lead. The Aces shot an abysmal 29% from the floor while Golden State went 45.7% from the floor.

In the fourth quarter, it was more of the same inconsistency. Aaliyah Nye added a small spark from the three-point line. With less than 5 minutes left in the game, the Aces were down by 24.

The Aces are now 4-3 with a 95-68 loss to Golden State.

In the post game presser, Chelsea Gray said, “We can’t give up 95 points. We have to start with small goals.”

It will be fascinating to see what steps coach Becky Hammon takes to drum up some motivation, consistency, and team chemistry before the next game.

The Aces will meet a young Dallas Wings team on Friday, June 13 at 9pm PT