Aces fall in closing seconds to Washington

With the Las Vegas Aces (9-11) without MVP A’ja Wilson, they had to gel together to bring strength and consistency on the floor against the Washington Mystics (10-10).

Wilson’s injury is updated as sprained right wrist. She was seen on the bench wearing a brace on her wrist.

The two teams started a fast-paced first quarter, but the Mystics slowly started to get the edge before the Aces called a timeout. Megan Gustafson made her debut on the court with a pass from Jackie Young.

In the first quarter, Aces rookie Aaliyah Nye scored her 100^th career point.

The Aces ended a quick first quarter tied with Washington, 15-15. In the second quarter,the Aces and Mystics seemed to go shot-for-shot. To close out the half, Jewell Loyd hit a long three-ball at the buzzer to give the Aces a 40-27 lead.

Jewell Loyd came out in the second half with an immediate three-pointer, giving the Aces a 43-29 lead.

In the third quarter half, the Mystics staged a slight comeback.  With 2:01 left in the third quarter, the Aces were up 52-45. The Mystics went on a 9-2 run. NaLyssa Smith went 1-for-2 at the line before the end of the third quarter, giving the Aces a five-point lead, 55-50.

Heading into the fourth, Chelsea Gray made the connection with Jackie Young to continue to pad the Aces lead. The game came down to one possession. Chelsea Gray attempted to call a timeout for the Aces, but the Aces didn’t have any left with 5.2 seconds left in the game.

The Aces go down in a nail-bitter, 70-68.

In the post-game press conference, Chelsea Gray said, “We didn’t get stops when we needed to, really the second half.”

“All we can do is just comeback and work,” Jewell Loyd said.

“We gotta be able to close out games,” Gray continued.

The Las Vegas Aces are now 9-11. Up next they head home in a rematch against a young and hungry Valkyries team on Saturday, July 12 at 1pm PT/4pm ET.