Aces notebook: Liz v. Syl, Hamby draws start, Colson’s ankle
By Ben Dull
Liz leads way with 22 and 13 in win over Lynx
The Las Vegas Aces improved to 12-6 with a 79-74 win Sunday at home over the Minnesota Lynx. Las Vegas remains tied atop the standings with the Connecticut Sun heading into their final game before the All-Star break.
Dearica Hamby gave the Aces 38 quality minutes starting in the place of injured All-Star forward A’ja Wilson, and All-Star center Liz Cambage led the way with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Fellow All-Star starter Kayla McBride poured in 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
“We knew we had enough firepower to win this game, especially at home,” Aces head coach and president of basketball operations Bill Laimbeer said postgame. “We just had to go out and play defense and take care of the basketball, which we did not do again.”
Minnesota also turned the ball over 18 times. Both teams shot 45 percent from the field and pulled down six offensive rebounds.
The Aces doubled the Lynx up in free throw attempts (22 to 11) and shot 6-of-18 from deep to Minnesota’s 4-of-14.
Turnovers remain a hot-button issue. The entire team regularly points to them as something that must be addressed in the second half of the season.
“It’s a bit frustrating as coach to watch that happen because I can’t play the game with them,” Laimbeer added. “If I play the game, I wouldn’t turn the ball over—I’d make sure we got a good shot all the time. We have to learn that. Hopefully the sooner the better. It’s very frustrating for the coaches, but we got the win.”
But the Aces must now adjust without Wilson in the lineup. Laimbeer noted postgame that he currently suspects the All-Star captain to be out for “weeks”, though an official timetable has not yet been set.
“Without A’ja, there goes part of our post game,” Laimbeer said. “We’ve still got Liz Cambage down there, our leading scorer today with 22, made big shots in the fourth quarter. Teams are gonna have to handle her first and foremost when they play us.
“We’ll get more perimeter action. Hamby will be more of a perimeter player. Hopefully, she’ll get some midrange shots. I tried to get a couple of ‘em for her tonight. She wouldn’t shoot ‘em; she tried driving to the basket against Fowles. We’re gonna be more of a movement type of offense now rather than just dominate the post.”
Liz v. Syl
A matchup featuring two of the league’s best bigs was cut short in the first half as Sylvia Fowles sat for the final eight minutes of the second quarter with three fouls. Things picked up in the second half as each team looked to play through its All-Star center.
Fowles shot 2-of-5 with one turnover against Cambage, totaling eight points on eight possessions including two trips to the foul line.
Cambage shot 3-of-4 with one turnover against Fowles. She managed six points on five possessions, including two key jumpers over the 6’6″ Fowles in the second half, and was innovating in using her length to attempt to persuade the officials into some three-second violation calls against Fowles whenever she tried ducking in to get a deep catch with two feet in the lane.
The tactic did not pay off with any whistles against Fowles.
Cambage is now shooting 15-of-49 on jump shots (including 10 3-point attempts) this season per WNBA.com. She shot 39-of106 on jumpers last season (including 36 3PA) with Dallas.
More of those shots falling in the second half of the season will open up more drives to the rim—her own and maybe even straight-line drives for her teammates with the opposing center out of the picture.
Hamby draws the start
The Aces don’t have many natural options at the 4 with Wilson sidelined, putting a premium on Hamby simply staying out of foul trouble and logging as many minutes as possible.
“I knew I was just gonna continue what I’ve been doing, obviously in more minutes, but that didn’t change my focus and my process coming into the game,” Hamby told High Post Hoops.
She projects as the primary matchup for Storm All-Star forward Natasha Howard, currently the league’s third-leading scorer at 18.4 points per game.
“Just staying down and being in her space,” Hamby noted as the key in that matchup. “I like guarding Natasha. It’ll be a fun matchup for me.”
Howard poses just as many problems on the other end, where she had four steals and six blocks when the teams met on Friday. She was a disruptive presence in the lane as a help defender and the primary player sent to double Cambage inside.
“I think we have to take advantage of it since she is the one trapping, getting her hands on a lot of balls,” Hamby said. “If she’s coming off of me, then it’s just diving and finishing shots.”
Update on Colson
Colson noted postgame that X-rays came up negative on her left ankle. She left the game in the third quarter and did not return.
Should the injury force her to miss an extended stretch, the Aces would be down to nine players. Laimbeer noted postgame that the team can sign a player to a seven-day contract at any time and will have enough cap space to sign a player for the remainder of the season in early August.
Colson is coming off a big game in Washington. She got to the foul line 11 times, bringing an important off-the-bounce element to their bench units in the halfcourt with her ability to break people down. She delivered more of the same with her lone bucket on Sunday.
“Sometimes we’re running plays for other people, so I’m not as aggressive attacking because it isn’t required for the play,” Colson told High Post Hoops. “But that’s just always kind of been my nature in the league. Going in transition, trying to break people down one-on-one, and then usually creating for others. The staff and the rest of the team has been on me more about being more aggressive for my own shot; it’ll open other stuff up.”
Next up: tiebreaker with Seattle
Both games to date with the Storm have come down to the wire, first in Las Vegas last month. All-Star Jewell Loyd went down with an ankle injury in the opening minutes, but Seattle still almost came away with a win on the road.
The Storm capitalized on the Aces’ sloppiness on Friday, forcing many of their 21 turnovers and turning them into scoring opportunities in transition.
Loyd logged eight minutes off the bench Friday in her first action since the injury. Her return may boost an offense that has struggled at times in the halfcourt. Tuesday’s winner will clinch a 2-1 regular series win that may rear its head later on as playoff seedings are finalized.
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