Liberty top Aces in Season Opener

The Las Vegas Aces, with their newly tooled offense met the New York Liberty in New York for the season opener.

In the first quarter, both teams got off to a quick start, with both teams being tied 2-2.

With less than a minute to go, Satou Sabally was called for a flagrant foul, level one against Jackie young. Jackie Young went 1-2 from the line.

For most of the game, Chelsea Gray worked hard to facilitate some cohesion for the Aces on the offensive side of the ball.

To close out the first quarter, Jackie Young attempted a three-pointer but couldn’t get it to go. The Aces still managed to edge the Liberty, 20-19 at the end of the first.

Chelsea Gray mentioned in an end-of-the quarter interview that the Aces needed to continue to tighten up on defense to keep the game close and eventually take the lead.

In the second quarter, Chelsea Gray managed to draw a foul going in for a lay-up, Sandy Brondello challenged the call. After the challenge break, the Referee ruled that there was no illegal contact. The Liberty received the ball back.

Aces were 1-7 from the three-point line at the 6:30 mark of the second quarter. Liberty went on a 7-0 run in the second quarter. With 5:25 to go, Jackie Young came up big with a three-pointer thus send the Liberty to a time out to talk about it.

At one point, you could clearly tell that Chelsea Gray was irate with the lack of team defense as the second quarter drew down. To close out the first half, the Liberty led the Aces 47-33. A’ja Wilson went 5-for-10 from the floor to end the half while the rest of the team went 7-for-30.

For most of the first half, Natasha Cloud was a thorn in the side of the Aces on both ends of the floor.

The Aces came out in the third quarter firing as A’ja Wilson connects from the three-point line and went on an 14-8 run. The third quarter was a clear example of the work that A’ja Wilson has been putting in the offseason in various areas of her game.