‘Masked Mamba’ Jewell Loyd Clinches Win for Aces

In front of a sellout crowd for their home opener, the Las Vegas Aces opened up against the young Washington Mystics.

The Mystics were without Brittney Sykes after a 30-point outting against the Golden State Valkyries.

To end the half, Jackie Young had 5 points as the Mystics had a two-point lead headed into the second quarter.

The Mystics stayed tough on defense to start the second quarter. With 9:03 left in the second, coach needed a timeout to talk it over.

With the shot clock winding down, Jewell Loyd hit the long ball from way out to bring the score to 28-21. A’ja Wilson also reached her 500^th assist with her pass to Jewell Loyd.

With 3:16 left in the half, Chelsea Gray converts on a long ball to pull the Aces to within two, 33-31. To close out the half, the Mystics led 42-33.

In the first quarter, the Mystics outscored the Aces 10-2 in the paint.

In the third quarter, the Aces came out to try to establish some form of consistency. Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young came out hot.

With every Aces answer, the Mystics would come back to take the tempo up a notch. With 3:00 left in the third quarter, the Mystics went up by 10, bringing the score to 54-44.

After being suspended in the season opener, Crystal Bradford checked in and immediately made her presence felt on both sides of the ball with forcing turnovers and getting a sweet layup off the glass.

During the third quarter, A’ja Wilson scored her 13^th point and picked up her 10^th rebound of the game. It was her 102^nd double-double.

To start the fourth, the Aces were trying to find their way with defensive stops. Jewell Loyd made it to the line and converted on both free-throws, pulling the Aces to within six.

With less than 1:30 left in the game, Dana Evans converts on a long three-pointer to bring the Aces to within two, 68-66.

With less than 20 seconds left in the game, the Aces get back-to-back defensive stops to pull within two, 72-70.

Chelsea Gray said with a sigh, “The game had so many highs and lows. We were down like eight…the fans stuck with us…”

“We just had this fight in us. We haven’t been together long. Thank our fans for sticking it out with us,” Jewell Loyd said.

The Aces finish off the Mystics with a thrilling three-point shot in the corner from Jewell Loyd, 75-72. Aces are now 2-1.

On Sunday, the Aces tangle with Jewell Loyd’s former team, the Seattle Storm in Seattle at 3p PT.