WNBA: Las Vegas Aces at Minnesota Lynx – Report From Section 111

It was not that long ago that when the Las Vegas Aces were in town or your team was in their house that the question was how much would you lose by? As dominant as the Aces have been is as sub-par as they seem now. Having lost the previous night on the road to Indiana by 10 points, the Aces were not prepared for the onslaught by the Minnesota Lynx that greeted them.

From the start, Minnesota displayed its dominance on offense and defense. It only took Minnesota a couple of minutes to get going. Regardless of their record, Las Vegas is not a pushover team, not with the firepower on their roster. Likewise, despite Minnesota’s record, they have had their own weak moments of disconnection. However, on this night, the Lynx came of out the gate with an intensity and unified play that made the task for Las Vegas even more difficult. 

The stats only tell a part of the story. The Aces looked uncomfortable. They also looked frustrated with themselves which contributed to their disconnect. This is not to say that Minnesota got easy buckets. They simply were able to capitalize on many of the mistakes that the Aces made. 

Leading Scorers For The Aces And Lynx

Interestingly, every player on the Aces had a minus rating in the +/- column. However, every Minnesota player had a plus rating, for what that is worth. Jewell Loyd, who has yet to find a consistent rhythm with Las Vegas, was held to zero points and had 5 fouls. Not a stat line we’re used to seeing from Loyd, but there it is. Aside from A’ja Wilson, who scored 15 points and Jackie Young who scored 14 points, no one else hit double figures.

Minnesota was led by Napheesa Collier with 25 points, followed by Courtney Williams with 23, Bridget Carleton with 14, Kayla McBride with 13, and Jessica Shepard with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Everyone scored for Minnesota, and the fourth quarter was primarily the bench players getting extended minutes.