Aces semifinal loss exposes rebounding gap at Golden State

The Las Vegas Aces opened the WNBA semifinals Sunday with their lowest playoff scoring total since winning their first championship in 2022, falling 71-60 to the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. Golden State dominated the glass 52-25 and held Las Vegas to 33.9% shooting to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 24 points but shot 8-for-21. Chelsea Gray added 16 points and reached two career playoff milestones, while Jackie Young finished with 11 points, five assists and three steals.

Las Vegas’ previous playoff low in that span was 62 against New York in the deciding game of the 2024 semifinals. Sunday’s total also fell below its previous season low of 66, reached twice.

Gabby Williams led Golden State with 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Kiah Stokes collected 14 rebounds, including seven offensive boards, and blocked three shots despite going scoreless. Kayla Thornton added 11 rebounds as the Valkyries finished with a 17-2 advantage on the offensive glass.

Second chances pile up

The Aces swept the teams’ three regular-season meetings, but coach Becky Hammon dismissed that advantage before the opener.

“I think the first mistake is believing that beating them 3-0 in the regular season matters. It doesn’t matter,” Hammon said before the game.

Golden State led 22-18 after the first quarter, then opened the second with Kaitlyn Chen’s 3-pointer and Aminata Gueye’s putback. Kierstan Bell answered with a 3 and blocked Chen’s layup attempt on the next possession. Williams later added a layup and a 3 before Veronica Burton’s floater stretched the lead to 34-23.

Las Vegas closed the half on an 8-0 run. Wilson scored five points during that stretch, and Young hit a 3 off Brianna Turner’s assist. The Aces held Golden State scoreless over the final 4:23 to reach halftime trailing 34-31.

The narrow margin masked a sizable rebounding problem. Golden State held a 25-12 advantage on the glass, including 10 offensive rebounds to none for Las Vegas.

Gray makes playoff history

The Aces missed their first five shots of the third quarter before Turner grabbed their first offensive rebound. She found Gray for a 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 36-34.

Golden State answered with five straight points, and Las Vegas continued to struggle to find consistent offense. Gray scored 10 points in the quarter, while Wilson added five. Mai Yamamoto supplied the only other basket.

Gray became the WNBA’s all-time playoff assists leader with her pass to Wilson for a three-point play with 4:10 left in the third. She also moved into eighth place on the league’s career playoff scoring list during the game.

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The Aces lost another scoring option when Jewell Loyd was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a leg injury. She finished scoreless in 17 minutes.

Gueye scored seven third-quarter points for Golden State. After Gray pulled Las Vegas within 52-46, the Valkyries answered with two second-chance baskets. Yamamoto’s late layup left the Aces trailing 56-48 entering the fourth.

Final push stalls

Young’s 3-pointer brought Las Vegas within 58-53 with 8:25 remaining, but Golden State responded with six straight points. Williams hit a step-back 3, and Chen’s basket forced an Aces timeout.

Young scored inside after the break. Las Vegas then went nearly six minutes without another field goal, making its final basket on Kalani Brown’s putback with 53.4 seconds left.

The rebounding struggles continued. On one possession, Stokes collected an offensive rebound before Thornton grabbed three more and eventually drew a foul.

Wilson’s two free throws cut the deficit to 65-58 with 4:44 remaining. However, Golden State scored the next six points. The Valkyries also won a challenge that overturned a foul on Yamamoto’s drive, and Wilson later missed two free throws.

Hammon removed Wilson, Gray and Young with 1:35 left. Las Vegas finished with just four field goals in the quarter.

Golden State’s defensive effort reflected what Hammon had described before tipoff.

“They play super, super hard. Um, they have their system, and they’re all bought into that system,” she said.

Las Vegas finished 21-for-62 from the field and scored just 18 points in the paint to Golden State’s 34. Wilson, Gray and Young combined for 51 of the Aces’ 60 points.

Up next

The Aces face Golden State in Game 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at Chase Center. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m. Pacific, with coverage on Peacock and NBCSN. The series moves to Michelob ULTRA Arena for Game 3 on Friday, Oct. 9, at 6:30 p.m. Pacific.

Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.