Aces unable to hold early lead fall to Sparks

Aces unable to maintain an early lead

The Aces jumped out to a 16-2 lead early in the game, but the Sparks rallied to trail by just five points after the first quarter. Kate Martin, had a huge first quarter, scoring six points and making two of her three attempts from three.

The Sparks continued their strong shooting in the second quarter, outscoring the Aces 22–18. The Aces would lead by just one at the half, but A’ja Wilson had two noteworthy accomplishments in the quarter: she scored her 4,000th point and moved up to 17th in the WNBA in blocks.

In the third quarter, Los Angeles would take the lead, outscoring the Aces 7-0 in second-chance points and making three of their four three-pointers during the quarter. Aja Wilson and Becky Hammon both received technical fouls in the third quarter as the Sparks outscored the Aces 31–21.

A Kelsey Plum three-pointer gave the Aces their first lead since the first half as they went on a 14-4 run to start the fourth quarter. Tiffany Hayes scored six of the Aces fourteen points during the run. There was still 1:42 left in the fourth quarter when the Sparks went on a run of their own and took a five-point lead, 91-86, and the Aces were unable to rally.

After picking up her second technical foul for leaving the coaches box with 23 seconds left in the game and the Aces behind 93-89, Becky Hammon was ejected out of the game.

Box Score

Three players for the Sparks scored in double digits, with Dearica Hamby leading the way with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Rickea Jackson and Aari McDonald both had 16 points.

The biggest difference in this game was the way the Sparks out-rebounded the Aces 36–23, winning the rebounding battle. After not playing in the first three quarters, Rae Burrell entered the game in the fourth and scored seven points, including two three-pointers, to help the Sparks win the game.

A’ja Wilson led the way for the Aces with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks, and a 2-2 three-point shooting performance. Kelsey Plum scored 24 points moving her up to 4th in the Aces franchise record for most points.

Tiffany Hayes gave the Aces a spark with 17 points off the bench, but she would be the only person to score off the bench for the Aces. In her first start of the season, rookie Kate Martin scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc.

The Aces will return home on Tuesday to continue their Commissioner’s Cup campaign against the Minnesota Lynx. NBA TV will broadcast the game, which tips off at 7 p.m.