PHOENIX, AZ — The new look Las Vegas Aces under the Becky Hammon administration looked poised, controlled the tempo and ran the floor for a 106-88 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night.
The Aces led the entire game as the Mercury came out in the first half flatter than a short stack from IHOP. The Aces offense allowed five players to finish in double figures with A’ja Wilson picking up her 38th career double-double (15 points and 11 rebounds) in a slightly different role. Wilson understood in the new offense she doesn’t always have to touch the ball, as long as she contributes to the offense via rebounding, passing, and stretching the floor to create better spacing.
“For sure we took care of business. This is just the beginning,” Wilson said. “We still have a lot to learn from one another. But this is actually huge, just to get Becky her first win.”
Kelsey Plum was primed for this style of offense after completing a rigorous off season workout program. Plum was a key shooter and impressed not only her teammates, but Hammon as well.
“We want her shooting it as much as possible, and we go from there,” Hammon said. “She’s been at another level for sure throughout our entire camp.”
Plum who finished with 20 points flourished along with Jackie Young who also finished with 20 points. Dearica Hamby led all Aces players with 24 points. The Aces annihilated the Mercury, Phoenix managed to outscore their opponents in the second half behind the offensive play of Skylar Diggins-Smith who scored a game-high 25 points and Shay Peddy emerged with 16 points.
“Defensively, I thought in the first half, we didn’t give a lot of resistance – I mean, uncontested shots,” Diggins-Smith said.
Though it was the first game of the season for the Aces, it was a great indication of what’s to come this season for a healthy team loaded with talent ready to explode onto the rest of the league. Hammon picked up her first win as a WNBA head coach.
“What made it really cool for me is I could feel their energy for me,” Hammon said post game. “I could feel how bad they wanted it for me,” Hammon said of the Aces’ season opener as the WNBA’s 26th season got underway Friday. “So that was probably the most special thing about it. They know there’s a spotlight, and eventually, I’ve gotta move out of it and they’ve gotta move into it. It’s about them.”
*Mercury are still awaiting some players from overseas commitments including Diamond DeShields. They host the Storm on Wednesday night.
*Aces return to Las Vegas to host their first home game of the season against the Seattle Storm on Sunday at 7PM PT.
