In a fight for the WNBA Commissioners Cup, the Chicago Sky fell to the Las Vegas Aces, 93-83.
The Aces came out on fire scoring 33 points in the first quarter to the Sky’s 14 points.
Recommended Videos
“I think Vegas is too good of a team to get behind like that.” said Sky head coach and GM James Wade in the post game presser.
“I thought we were a little timid. I don’t know, it seems like we weren’t ready to play at the beginning of the game. That may have been on me,” he continued.
Even though the team won in scoring in the three quarters left in the matchup and three players with over 15 points it still wasn’t enough.
Leading the way for Chicago was Candace Parker with 20 points, Emma Meesseman and Kahleah Copper added 18 points.
Parker also spoke on the team passiveness that led to a slow start in the first quarter in the post game presser.
“Early on, I feel like we were very passive. Credit to them -- they came out and threw the first punch. But for us to get down 33-14 in the first quarter, I don’t know what it was, 14-0 or something, I don’t know, but that’s not the way we wanted to come out and play,” she stated.
To add in the scoring department for the Sky, Rookie Rebekah Gardner had good production and added 9 points while Courtney Vandersloot coming back from injury had 8 points.
For the Aces, they had 4 players with over 15 points to give them the edge over the defending champs.
Kelsey Plum led the way with 24 points while Chelsea Gray added 19 points and a pivotal third quarter performance.
Head Coach Becky Hammon spoke about that in the post game press conference. “But really, she’s somebody who likes big moments, and she likes to take and make big shots.” she stated.
“To me, she is the cooling factor. When things get a little hot, out of control, the pressure starts to rise, she is the cooler.” she continued.
Her other teammates sure enough helped her out too with Jackie Young having a 18 point performance and A’ja Wilson chipping in 17 points of her own.
Both teams can feel accomplished though as they sit atop the league standings, with Chicago at No. 1 and the Aces at No. 2.