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The Las Vegas Aces make a historic first trip to Bay Area to take on the WNBA’s newest team, the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday, June 7 at 12pm PT.
The Aces come into this game 4-2 after defeating the Seattle Storm, 75-70 in Seattle on Sunday.
A’ja Wilson was named Western Conference Player of the Week scoring 19 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks. Jackie Young added 12 points; rookie Aaliyah Nye scored a career-high 10 points off the bench. Jewell Loyd and Chelsea Gray also scored 10 points each.
This matchup with between the Aces and Valkyries will be the first time that Aces’ coach Becky Hammon will face former Aces’ assistant coach and current Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase. Nakase coach under Hammon from 2022-24.
Golden State comes into this game dropping their last four games, most recently a loss to Phoenix on Thursday.
Veronica Burton led the Valkyries scoring 16 points, Burton leads the team in both points with 12 points per game and assists with 3.9 assists per game this season.
Not only do the Valkyries have Nakase coaching on the sideline as another 2024 member of the Aces, but they also have one of last year’s Las Vegas draft picks Kate Martin is posting 6.5 ppg and shooting 42.1% from 3-point range.
The two teams will meet again three more times this season: July 12 and August 3 at home and August 6 in the Bay Area.
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Aces explode for 106 points in win over Paige Bueckers-less Wings
Jackie Young scored 24 points, five teammates scored in double figures and the Las Vegas Aces had a season-high point total in a 106-80 victory against the Dallas Wings on Sunday afternoon in Arlington. Jewell Loyd, coming off the bench for the first time this season, scored 20 points and Kierstan Bell, making her first start of the season in Loyd's spot, had her first double-figure game of the season with 19 points. A'ja Wilson had 14 points and 10 rebounds, NaLyssa Smith scored 11 and Chelsea Gray added 10 for the Aces (13-13). Gray and Young each doled out eight assists and Wilson had seven. Arike Ogunbowale scored 18 points, Haley Jones had 15, DiJonai Carrington scored 14 and Teaira McCown had 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead Dallas (7-19), which lost for the sixth time in seven games. Rookie Paige Bueckers, the Wings' leading scorer this season, did not play because head coach Chris Koclanes said he was resting her in the midst of a stretch of four games in seven days, which includes the conclusion of a back-to-back when New York visits Monday night. The Aces scored the first four points of the third quarter to open a 60-44 lead. JJ Quinerly made a midrange jumper to provide the Wings' first points after nearly four minutes, and she added two free throws and an assist on Carrington's jumper to get Dallas within 10. Gray made a three-pointer and Loyd added back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute to help Las Vegas expand the lead to 73-58 at the end of the third quarter. The Aces poured on 33 more points in the fourth. Wilson made consecutive field goals and Gray followed with three free throws to help Las Vegas open a 12-4 lead. Dallas took a one-point lead before Young made back-to-back three-pointers, and the score was tied at 27 at the end of the first quarter. The score was tied three more times early in the second, and Bell made a three-pointer to break the final tie and start an 11-2 run that gave the Aces a 47-38 lead. Las Vegas took its biggest lead of 14 points on a three-point play by Wilson before consecutive field goals by Luisa Geiselsoder and Ogunbowale helped trim the margin to 56-44 at halftime.
Kirk Cousins makes notable leadership move after Falcons practice
Kirk Cousins might be relegated to the job of backup quarterback, but he is showing veteran leadership to his Atlanta Falcons teammates. Following Sunday's practice, Cousins pulled aside rookie defensive end James Pearce to encourage the first-round pick after his fourth practice in the league at Flowery Branch, Georgia. "QB Kirk Cousins pulled aside Pearce after practice to compliment him on a pass batted down," wrote Marc Raimondi of ESPN. Cousins reportedly had a solid day of practice on Sunday, going 7-of-12 passing against the first-team unit. If Cousins wants out of Atlanta, he's not showing it at practice. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback is competing on the field and being a good teammate around the facility. Cousins' actions on the field backed up what Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot praised Cousins for before the team's practice on Sunday. “Outside, it's a lot more of a deal than it is in the building,” Fontenot said to the media about the idea of friction between the Falcons and Cousins, per video from D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He shows up, he does his job, just like anybody ... We've gotta build the best 70-man roster so we can go win games. "That's what we're focused on, and Kirk, just like all the other players, is focused on coming in here and doing their job. That's what he's been doing." Fontenot didn't dismiss the idea that Atlanta would trade Cousins before the season. He said the Falcons will do whatever it takes to make the team better, but stressed that Cousins has been a professional throughout the process of being replaced by Michael Penix Jr., a first-round pick from the 2024 draft. “In terms of making moves, whether it's trades or acquiring players, we're always looking at those factors," Fontenot said. "We're gonna do whatever we can do to make this team the best it can possibly be. But he's been a great professional, and he's handled himself well.” Cousins is coming to work in a manner that will make another owner want to take a chance on the veteran quarterback. That could be one of his best-selling points before he plays in his 13th season in the league.
Bruins' David Pastrnak Calls Out Canadiens' Juraj Slafkovsky: He Just Lacks Humility'
Juraj Slafkovsky is one of the most promising players in the NHL, but now he has been called out by David Pastrnak, who stated he lacks humility. After being picked No. 1 overall in 2022 NHL Draft, expectations were high in Montreal for young star Juraj Slafkovsky, and thus far, he's shown glimpses of being the elite level player many expected when he entered the National Hockey League. However, there are still some major steps to go, and in a recent interview, Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak pointed out perhaps one area where the 21-year old may need to improve moving forward. When asked about Slafkovsky and his potential, Pastrnak gave nothing but a glowing review of the young Canadiens star, but he did note that he believes Slafkovsky needs more humility. 'He's still a young player who is gaining experience in the NHL every year. This season it was already clear that he gave the team more than before...He just needs a little more humility, he should set an example for the young ones.' On the ice, there's no doubting that Slafkovsky has the presence, the size and the talent to be a true star, posting 101 total points over the past two seasons, but for whatever reason, it appears as though Pastrnak believes he needs to improve off the ice before he can take a major leap in Montreal. Ultimately, the talent is still there for Slafkovsky, and at 21-years old, he'll continue to learn off the ice, and if he can go anywhere close to living up to the potential that he's shown in his first three years at the NHL level, there's no doubt that he can be a big time star and help lead the Canadiens to significant post-season success.
Pirates' Paul Skenes continues to make Cy Young case with dominant July
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes continued his charge toward the National League Cy Young Award on Sunday afternoon, pitching six shutout innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 6-0 win. It also completed an utterly dominant month of July that saw his performance reach an entirely new level, even for him. Including Sunday's start against Arizona, Skenes made five starts in July and threw 27 innings. He allowed just two runs in those innings, and both of them came on one swing of the bat in a July 11 start at Minnesota, where he allowed a two-run home run against Trevor Larnach. Other than that one swing, nobody scored a single run against Skenes in the month, including his one inning of work in the 2025 All-Star game. Overall, his ERA in July was a microscopic 0.67 with a 0.88 WHIP, while striking out 36 batters (12 per nine innings) and walking just three. It is almost impossible for a pitcher to be more dominant than that over a single month. He has also yet to allow a first-inning run in any start this season. All of this has only strengthened his argument for the 2025 NL Cy Young Award. Through the end of July, his ERA for the season is down to just 1.83, while he leads the National League in ERA, FIP (fielding independent pitching) and WAR (Wins Above Replacement), while trailing only Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler in WHIP (0.89 to 0.90). Sunday was the 45th start of his career, with his career ERA now sitting at 1.89. That is the third-lowest of any pitcher in baseball since ERA became an official stat in both leagues. He is sandwiched between a bunch of pitchers who played before the live-ball era. In other words, nobody watching baseball today has ever seen anything like this to start a career. The only thing working against him this season is that the Pirates offense has been consistently bad, so even with his dominance, he only owns a 6-8 record, while the Pirates are just 11-11 overall in his starts. That is a knock on the Pirates offense. Not him.
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