KEY RUNS
• Chicago took command early with an 18-2 run over the first six minutes of the first quarter
• Las Vegas cut the deficit to six, 35-29, with a 15-8 run spanning the first five minutes of the second quarter
• The Aces took their first lead of the game with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter after a 9-0 run gave them a 59-58 lead
• Chicago outscored Las Vegas 22-16 in the final frame to escape with the win 87-84
KEY STATS
• The Sky made 28 of their 31 free-throw attempts, outscoring the Aces from the free-throw line by 10 points, as Las Vegas went 18 for 22
• Las Vegas outscored Chicago in the paint 46-32
• Chicago shot a season-low 20.0% from the 3-point line, finishing 1-for-18 from behind the arc after a 4-of- 7 start
• Las Vegas committed a season-high eight first-half turnovers
• The Aces held the edge in offensive rebounds 19-7
CHICAGO NOTES
• Courtney Vandersloot totaled 10 first-quarter points, a new season high for a quarter, on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting. She finished with 16 points and 13 assists, recording her fourth double double of the season
• With her 13 assists, Vandersloot moved up to the sixth spot on the WNBA all-time assists list
• Diamond DeShields shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, matching her season high for freethrows made
• Vandersloot, DeShields, Jantel Lavender and Stefanie Dolson each recorded double-figure point totals for the Sky
LAS VEGAS NOTES
• Liz Cambage paced the Aces in scoring with a season-high 28 points and was active on the glass with 11 rebounds. It was her seventh double-double of the season.
• Dearica Hamby picked up her sixth double-double of the season. She tied her season high in assists with four and steals with three.
• Sugar Rodgers scored a season-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shots, including four 3-point field goals, the most 3s Rodgers has made in a game this season.
• Cambage, Hamby, Rodgers, Jackie Young and Tamera Young each recorded double-figure point totals for the Aces
POSTGAME QUOTES
SKY GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH JAMES WADE
On players playing through foul trouble in the fourth quarter:
“It’s challenging, especially when you got players that are so good and gifted drawing fouls, you have to be extra focused. You have to stop them from sending them to the line and that’s a challenge. They did a good job at executing.”
On Jantel Lavender’s injury:
“No update yet, she’s still testing, we’ll get her more tests tomorrow and we’ll know something. I know it’s a lower extremity injury.”
On slowing down Liz Cambage in the second half:
“We had to crowd her space. I thought she did a good job of commanding space and face cutting. Anytime she shows in numbers, it’s a disadvantage for us. We have to be more disruptive and get our hands in the passing lane and defend her from different angles.”
SKY GUARD COURTNEY VANDERSLOOT
On coming back in the final quarter:
“I think we kept our composure when things weren’t going our way. We just made big baskets and got big stops, that last stop was huge for us. I think we showed a lot of composure and showed that we can make big plays down the stretch.”
On Liz Cambage:
“Boxing her out was a key. She had a lot of offensive rebounds and probably three of them resulted in and one plays in the first half. She’s tough, she’s a load and hard to guard. She’s going to get some points but we made it tough on her. We threw some doubles and a triple at one time, when it came down to it we battled. Our post players worked their tail off to make it difficult for her, and that’s all we can ask for her.”
On preparing for a challenging stretch:
“We have a tough stretch here and we’re really focused on one game at a time. We know this is the playoff push, every game counts, everything is so close. If we drop one, we drop to eighth spot and if we win one, we go up. We’re focused on every game, making big plays, and winning.
ACES GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH BILL LAIMBEER
On falling to Chicago:
“We fought back from a horrible start, got a lead, and the same thing keeps creeping in. We turn it over, we take a bad shot, we foul, they shoot free throws and get control of the game. We were unable to pull this one out. It was very frustrating. Its difficult because I don’t play the game. They have to learn. We saw for the first time today how much we miss A’ja. Would have been key especially for the first quarter We would have had someone who can give us some buckets. I thought Liz played a phenomenal first half but struggled in the second but still her presence was there. I have to think long and hard about making some type of change. We can’t come out every two out of three games and be down a couple points in the first quarter because we just don’t have it. That is unacceptable and that can’t happen any longer and they stayed the course. Something has to do differently this is just too frustrating and we have to try something different.”
On what he wanted at the end of the game:
“Anyway, to get a three ball. We have done a pre-prior possession and got a good look at a three and missed the shot. They switched and did a nice job taking away our initial three ball but we still got off a good shot but it didn’t go in and that’s the ball game.
On Sugar’s performance:
“I thought Sugar came in and did what she is supposed to do. Come in and make shots. She plays hard on defense, tonight the shots were going in for her. Getting her more minutes is difficult, depends on how she is playing but playing with the energy she does she gets tired quickly so the spurts I played her in I thought were appropriate.”
ACES GUARD SUGAR RODGERS
On how it felt to get loose for a couple shots:
“It felt good, but we didn’t win so it doesn’t matter. But getting them in is ideal. If I’m at range and they go in then they go in, if they don’t then I just got to go out there and bring the energy.”
On her view of the slow start the Aces got off to:
“It’s hard to start right there and comeback and be into it. There was a lot of little things that we didn’t get done today that needed to get done.”
On what they need to do to recover and bounce back by Sunday:
“We don’t have a choice, every game for us is a playoff game. We play Connecticut next and they lost by 30 something tonight, so we know they are going to be hungry coming in we just have to do what we have to do.”
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