Aces go 9-9 as they come up short without Wilson against Liberty

The Las Vegas Aces (9-9) got a quick start against the New York Liberty (13-6) leading the Liberty. The two teams began to trade leads. To close out the first quarter, the Aces were only down by 3, 19-16.

To start the second quarter, the Aces seemingly found their groove, but the Liberty kept connecting with the rim after every Aces score. With 4:13 left in the half, the Aces were down 33-30.

At the 4:13 mark, A’ja Wilson went out with a right wrist injury, and she did not return to the game.

The Aces then began to make a comeback before the end of the half to take the lead over the Liberty with Jewell Loyd making back-to-back shots in the paint to chip away at the Liberty’s lead, 38-37.

Kierstan Bell came up big with a tip in off the glass to tie, 40-40 with the Liberty. The Aces came away with big defensive stops by Kiah Stokes and Chelsea Gray to turn the tide for the Aces. Jackie Young drove in the paint with a layup to give the Aces a two-point lead to close out the first half.

In the second half, Jewell Loyd continued to facilitate Aces ball movement. Loyd went to the glass with her own layup and then completed a connection with Kierstan Bell for three-pointer to put the Aces up 47-42. Jackie Young scored her 3,000^th career point. Young finishes the night with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.

The Aces are now 9-9 with this 78-87 loss to the Liberty.

In the post-game presser, regarding the A’ja Wilson’s injury, Jackie Young said, “We’re just hoping she comes back.”

Aces Coach Becky Hammon said, “You can’t replace a diamond…With no A’ja, that puts more focus on everybody else.”

“We gotta learn and get better,” Hammon continued. As far as an update, Hammon said that Wilson will be getting an MRI Wednesday morning.

Regarding the losses, Dana Evans said, “We’re just gonna keep stacking day, we’re not going to give up. We’ll figure it out.”

Up next, the Aces move along on their five-game road trip to take on the Washington Mystics (9-10) on Thursday, July 10 at EagleBank Arena.