SAN FRANCISCO — Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd exited Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals against the Golden State Valkyries with a left leg injury and did not return.
The Valkyries beat the Aces 71-60 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series at the Chase Center on Sunday, Oct. 4.
Loyd appeared to have been injured early in the second half. She was removed from the game after the first two minutes in the third quarter.
Loyd finished the game with a plus/minus of +2. However, she did not score in the contest, going 0-for-2, missing two 3-point shots. She added two rebounds, an assist and a turnover.
Losing Loyd adds to the Aces' depth problem. They have been hit with a number of injuries that have impacted their team in the 2026 postseason. While
Las Vegas was able to squeak past the Indiana Fever in the first round, they entered the second round against the Valkyries less than 100%.
The Aces are without NaLyssa Smith, Stephanie Talbot and Dana Evans, all key contributors to the depth that has aided Las Vegas. Aces coach Becky Hammon addressed their injuries before the game while speaking to reporters.
"I mean, obviously we're a little bit depleted right now. We just have to be next woman up," Hammon said. "A lot of their players are very similar, so Nat kind of shuffles them in there and out of there. ... they kind of have a different kind of firepower that they were able to put put together. For us, you know, we just at some point I wish we would get healthy, but you know, it is what it is."
Loyd played a crucial role in helping the Aces get past the Indiana Fever in the first round. Hammon praised her performance, especially in a deciding Game 3 elimination game.
"I thought she was great. You know her ability to spread the floor. She's very solid defensively. I think one thing that gets overlooked, and I I wanted to give her her kudos in front of the team, but I'll say it here too: the amount of screen assists that she gets never really shows up on a stat sheet," Hammon said. "How many screens she set for everybody else to eat? She was a screen setting machine in that Indiana series, and so you know she does a lot of little things that help us win."
It is unclear on whether Loyd will be able to go for Game 2, but her presence was definitely be missed in the second half of Game 1.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aces' Jewell Loyd exits WNBA playoff game vs. Valkyries with injury
