NFL
By: Brock Vierra
A’ja Wilson wasted no time proving why she’s one of the league’s best players as the Aces‘ superstar put up 29 points and 15 rebounds in a dominant 99-80 victory over the lowly 1-6 Indiana Fever. A highly anticipated matchup on the WNBA’s early season schedule, the Aces verified many early claims that Caitlin Clark would have an extended transitional period in the league as they held the college star to 8 points in her Vegas debut. The Aces other two stars put in work as Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum combined for 44 points, capping off an excellent shooting performance from Vegas’ “Big 3.” The Aces moved to 3-1 on the season with the win.
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The game was an offensive shootout early on. Combining for 84 first-half points, it was a hotly contested matchup for the majority of the opening quarters. Indiana held a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter before they were outscored by 12 points in the second. The Fever stayed strong throughout, holding a 32-26 lead with 7 minutes remaining in the second but a Jackie Young three followed by A’ja Wilson layup off of an offensive rebound within 30 seconds cut the lead to 3. A Jackie Young steal and score off of Clark the following possession cut the lead to 1 and the Aces never looked back.
Trailing by 1 with 6 minutes left in the second, the Aces would end the half on a 13-4 run, taking a 46-38 lead into the locker room. Becky Hammon must’ve preached fundamentals during the break because Vegas came out locked in and fluid in their movements, a mindset that served the Aces well in the second half. Outscoring the Fever by 8 points in the third quarter and 3 in the fourth, fans were sent home happy with the 19 point victory.
As mentioned earlier, A’ja Wilson remains a force to be dealt with. The superstar’s display of phenomenal footwork led to easy buckets inside as 6 of her 12 made shots came from inside the paint. Wilson’s mid range was on point as well, knocking down 5 additional shots from inside 15. She even hit a three pointer to cap off a 12-18 shooting night that also included going 4-4 from the free throw line.
Kelsey Plum scored 20 points to go along with her 7 assists as Jackie Young put up 22 points and 6 assists. Plum and Young combined for 6 made threes and 8-10 shooting from the free throw line. Wilson, Plum and Young along with Alysha Clark averaged 31-32 minutes of work, calling in to question Vegas’ depth, a question made even more concerning by the Aces’ Sunday release of guard Dyaisha Fair. Fair only played four total minutes in 2024, all coming against the Fever.
It was an Iowa Hawkeyes reunion as recently retired Iowa women’s head basketball coach Lisa Bluder and Bluder’s longtime assistant and current Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen were sitting courtside to watch her former players battle. The Fever’s Caitlin Clark joined the Aces’ Kate Martin and Megan Gustafson. Gustafson, a 2019 second round pick played for the Hawkeyes from 2015-2019. Her and Clark are the only two Hawkeyes to win both the Naismith Trophy (given to the best player in college basketball) and be named AP Player of the Year. Both Clark and Gustafson’s numbers are retired by the university.
For Gustafson, her first year in Vegas has gotten off to a decent start. She has seen action in all four of Vegas’ games so far, serving as backup to starting center Kiah Stokes. Kate Martin found her shot in the second half, scoring two three point shots and another three point play made the old fashioned way. She had 12 points to go along with 7 rebounds. A career high night in both of those categories and shots made.
For Caitlin Clark, she is a victim of her environment. With league wide expectations on a team that had the number one pick for a reason, Clark’s Saturday night didn’t go to plan. Another frustrating night from beyond the arch, Clark went 2-5 from the three point stripe. Clark put up 8 points on 2-8 shooting. However it wasn’t all bad as Clark has 7 assists. It’s not so much of a skill issue as it is with the mental side of the game.
From what I’ve seen with Clark’s shot selection and defensive rotations, she’s still trying to grasp the structural concepts of the Fever’s offense and defense, something that is happening to rookies across the league. However her passing prowess is there and it showed. The Fever went 10-27 from the three point line but they had a tremendous amount of open shots. If the Fever were hitting them like the Mercury did before, this could be an issue going forward for the Aces.
For the Aces, a win is a win and a dominant second half doesn’t hurt either. Expect some roster moves from GM Natalie Williams in the near future as Hammon and company continue on their march for ring number three.
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