After overhauling their lineup in the offseason, the Dallas Wings took their home court on Thursday hoping to prove themselves against the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.
Things didn’t go well for the Wings in the first 20 minutes, but they still accomplished that mission by overcoming a 13-point, first-half deficit and dominating the second half for a 95-87 victory over the Aces.
It was the second straight loss for Las Vegas.
New Dallas acquisition Jessica Shepard proved her worth with strong play in the paint and a triple-double consisting of 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists.
A’ja Wilson, who led Las Vegas with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists, said poor defense was to blame for her team’s loss.
“It’s frustrating because we know what we are capable of on the defensive end,” Wilson said. “We let them dictate the physical tempo of the game in the second half, especially in the third quarter when they made that big run. We can’t rely solely on outscoring teams. We have to get stops, and tonight we just didn’t bring that necessary edge.”
After a slow start, the Aces took control with an 8-2 run late in the first quarter to build a 25-19 lead. But it was a second-quarter 11-4 scoring spurt, capped by Wilson’s late 3-pointer, that seemingly put the score out of reach at 53-40.
Though Las Vegas (4-3) held a 53-45 lead at halftime, the Wings’ shots started falling in the second half while the Aces’ wild perimeter shots refused to go in the hoop. Dallas (5-3) finally tied it on rookie Azzi Fudd’s driving layup at the end of the third.
Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said her team gave up too many easy points.
“The loss was a disappointing night on the defensive end for us, plain and simple,” said the coach, whose squad was outscored 50-34 in the second half.
Things got more disappointing as the Wings pulled away in a hurry to start the third, taking a 77-75 lead just over a minute into the second half.
But the Aces kept the score within reach until Paige Bueckers capped an 8-0 Dallas scoring run with a 3-pointer from the top at the 1:59 mark to put her team ahead 93-81.
Las Vegas’ Chelsea Gray, who had eight points and eight assists in the loss, said it all came down to consistency.
“Our ball movement was solid in stretches, but we turned it over in crucial moments and let those mistakes impact our transition defense,” she said. “It’s all about trust and talking through their screens. We’ll look at the film, adjust, and make sure we bring a different level of urgency to the next one.”
Although poorly guarded inside shots were a part of the problem for the Aces, the Wings’ 10-of-22 3-point and 86-percent free-throw shooting also hurt.
Jackie Young had 15 points and seven assists to help Las Vegas, and teammate Chennedy Carter finished with 14 points. Fudd scored 22 points to help the Wings.
The Aces return to action at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday when they travel to play Golden State at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.
