The Minnesota Lynx travel west for a late-night tipoff against the Aces in Las Vegas. Kayla McBride comes back as Dijonai Carrington misses with the left shoulder injury that she sustained in the last matchup. Two of the game’s best are facing off? That always leads to great basketball. The Aces are coming in on a 12-game winning streak, with their last loss being the blowout the Lynx handed them at the beginning of August.
The Lynx started hot from distance as their first four baskets came from downtown
to begin the game. The Aces used great offensive pace to match the long-distance barrage and stay neck and neck. Minnesota kept its offensive efficiency up using the age-old pick-and-roll to get easy slips to the rim. Both of these teams have been red hot as of late, and that came through in the first as the Aces held a slim two-point advantage at the end of the quarter. Bridget Carleton led the way for the Lynx as she went 3/3 from three, good for nine points.
Both teams kept up their back-and-forth play during the second as the lead never got too far one way or the other. A’ja Wilson dominated the first half, scoring 17 points and shooting 7/9 from the field. The Lynx were doing everything in their power to slow her down, but were struggling to do so. Courtney Williams shot well in the first half as she went 5/8 for 10 points. Blistering offense marked the first half of this one as both squads shot over 50 percent from the field. The Aces were able to maintain their slight lead and were up 47-44 at the end of the half.
The Aces kept their hot shooting up for much of the third quarter as they grew their lead over much of the frame. The Lynx continued to struggle against A’ja Wilson as despite all the defensive attention they were giving, she was still getting to her spots.
Las Vegas was using their semi-transition to find open looks, and they were knocking them down. The Aces got their lead up to eight before Natisha Hiedeman provided a spark as the quarter closed. She went on a personal 7-0 run, complete with steals and assists, to help the Lynx stay in the game. After cutting the lead to one, Las Vegas finished strong, including a buzzer-beater to take a 70-66 lead heading into the final stretch.
It was a sloppy start for both teams to begin the fourth as both squads threw the ball away a few times. The Aces stayed true to their play during the first three quarters and 12 games and played nearly perfect offense. Their hot shooting grew the lead to double digits. Natisha Hiedeman kept up her off-the-bench spark and helped the Lynx to keep the game within striking distance. Despite the multiple efforts, the Vegas threes kept their lead as the Aces’ offense ballooned the lead to 13 with four minutes to go. Minnesota waved the white flag with a few minutes left as the Aces took the win,
A’ja Wilson Bringing the Physicality
A’ja Wilson showed why the Aces are on a 13-game winning streak, and she still is one of the game’s best players. Her power tonight was huge for Las Vegas as she used her frame and coordination to get to the rim and punish any seam the Lynx defense showed. Wilson scored 31 points while shooting 12/15 from the field and added eight rebounds and two blocks. The Lynx worked hard to bring help defense to stop her to no avail. The second she found an opening, she did a great job hitting the gap and getting to her spot.
Aces Pace and Blistering Shooting
A lot of the most back-breaking plays from the Aces occurred in semi-transition. This one was a back-and-forth affair for the most part, but it seemed that every time Minnesota stabilized, the Aces were there to use a hit-ahead pass to knock down an open three. It did help that the Aces shot 11/24 from three (and even better when the game was still in the balance), but they did a good job getting to those shots.
Quick Shoutout to Natisha Hiedeman
Despite the loss, Natisha Hiedeman deserves her own paragraph for he play in this one. Her ability to come into the game and make things happen is a luxury to have off the bench. She has juice to help the offense while also causing issues for the other team defensively. This game had a few times where it felt like it was getting away from the Lynx, and Hiedeman was the one to bring it back when that happened. Her play in the third brought the lead down to one point with a personal 7-0 run.
Even when the game was essentially over and Coach Reeve put in the reserves, she kept fighting and made Coach Hammon uneasy enough that she put A’ja Wilson back into the game with two minutes remaining. While the loss stings tonight, having Hiedeman start to play like this as the home stretch rolls around can only be good.
Up Next
The Lynx head out to California to take on the Golden State Valkyries, who are fighting for playoff positioning in their first year as an expansion team. The Lynx have secured the number one seed but want to keep rolling as the postseason nears. The game on Saturday, September 6, begins at 7:30 PM CT, airing on FanDuel Sports Network.
