CHICAGO NOTES

• Courtney Vandersloot tallied 12 assists, tying Tamika Catchings for seventh on the WNBA all-time assists list. Vandersloot has done it in just 252 career games, while Catchings played 457 career game

• Vandersloot’s 12 assists tied her with the Liberty’s Brittany Boyd for most assists in a game this season

• Allie Quigley tied her career high with eight assists

• Kahleah Copper scored eight of her 11 points in the first quarter, finishing one-point shy of her season high in points

• The Sky went 11-for-12 from the free-throw line

• Chicago’s bench outscored Las Vegas’ 25-21, and the Sky outrebounded the Aces 34-29

 

LAS VEGAS NOTES

• The Aces have won four of the team’s past five contests

• Liz Cambage recorded 16 points, making her double-digit point streak 44 games, the longest active streak in the WNBA

• Cambage also dished a career-high seven assists

• Jackie Young tallied five assists in the first quarter, her most in a quarter this season, and finished with eight. It was the sixth time Young posted 8+ assists in her rookie season

• Kelsey Plum recorded nine points in the first quarter, equal to her point total for the previous five games. She finished with 14 points

• Tamera Young recorded a season-high three steals

• Las Vegas shot 67.7% in the first half (21-31)

POSTGAME QUOTES

SKY GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH JAMES WADE

On the last five minutes of the fourth quarter:

“It’s about execution, it was more about the defense than offense. I think our ability to not execute defensively, not being able to put them in uncomfortable spots affected on offense. It’s going to come down to executing in the last five minutes, setting screens, taking care of the ball, and not having defensive miscues. We weren’t good in those things.”

On Stefanie Dolson’s early foul trouble:

“It hurts us because she’s an important piece of what we want to do, we thought that the match up on that side of the floor was favorable. When she gets those fouls, it puts us behind the 8 ball a little bit. Those are things that we can’t have, specially from an experienced veteran. You expect those things from a young rookie but when you have a veteran that you need on the floor, you expect her to be on the floor and want to be on the floor. It was disappointing but hopefully we can fix it faster, sooner than later. We’re going to need her to be successful.”

On key post players performance:

“I think they complement each other because you have a player like Stefanie Dolson who can play inside and outside, Jantel Lavender too, and then you have a player who likes to play inside like Cheyenne Parker. It keeps our floor equal; we have a good balance of things. I think the challenging part for us is to always be focus on what our defensive match ups are and try to execute in time like tonight.”

 

SKY GUARD ALLIE QUIGLEY

On mistakes the team made:

“We gave them too many points in the paint. It seemed like they were getting lay-ups at the end and we were missing jumpers. We had to many defensive miscues on back screens and plays that we knew they were going to run. Their post players were big down the stretch, our post players played them tough the first 35 minutes.”

On heading into the other half of the season:

“We have to stay together. I always tell them that this is going to happen, this is the name of the league. Just as easy as you can win four games you can lose three in a row. We just got to get back on the winning streak, regroup, and go home. Our next game is at home, it’s a good chance for us to regroup and get back on a streak.”

On Chicago’s next game:

“We have to play hungry, we’re craving to win, we have to get a win. They have a lot of young players so they’re going to be coming out for a win. It’s about who plays, stays together, and executes better. We just got to be us and focus on us.”

 

ACES HEAD COACH BILL LAIMBEER

On the win:

“Grind out win. That’s what today was was a grinded out game. Our defense was not there for two-thirds of the game but it happens that way sometimes. Our offense was able to carry the day. We got them but we got to lock down a little bit better than that. We made some adjustments it helped us in the 4th quarter. I told our team it half that defense was going to win this game and it did. They only scored 10 in the fourth. We got all the rebounds and converted on the other end to win the game. A lot of good performances, we are still learning each other.”

On Kelsey Plum’s performance:

“I thought Plum had a hell of a game. She’s been very competitive. Shots haven’t gone in but today her shots went in from the start. I ran the first play for her again and she converted. Get her off to a good start, wonderful. I got Liz there almost 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. She can really pass. I told her and I told the team about a week or 10 days ago, they don’t know who I’m talking about or what I am talking about but I said I want her to be our Wilt Chamberlain. I want a younger version of an old Wilt Chamberlain because Wilt dominated so much for all those years and single handily just beat on people and they double and triple teamed him and he still scored 50 or 100. But at the end of his career he went to the Lakers and led the league in assists. He was a great team player and won a championship which Wilt didn’t win doing it by himself. I think Liz at this point in her career wants to win. She’s an outstanding passer, we know she can score and rebound so we need everything that she’s got.”

On A’ja taking over late in the game and the team’s offensive balance:

“Every night is going to be a little different every half or every quarter is going to be a little different and I told them this is how our team works. McBride had 16 points in the first half and a donut in the second half. So what? She did her job at the moment she was counted on, so did Plum and A’ja was dying she couldn’t hit anything she had no points and all of a sudden she ends up with 16 points. It comes and goes in waves, hopefully we have someone always stepping up offensively at a certain time of the game so we can ride that horse. But you just don’t know what’s going to happen from minute to minute in a good way.”

On what the Aces are doing well recently:

“Winning. A combination of things, somedays its defense, today was offense in the first half that kept us in the game. Last game against Indiana it was a combination of both. We are learning we are coming together we are more confident in who we are. You saw passes thrown today by Liz or A’ja or somebody else that is a sign of growth, we know each other better. We know they are going to be there we know they are going to catch it. We know if we set screens for certain players they are going to be open so it’s a learned thing and we are getting better but our big test will come Friday. We play Washington, top of the league, they spanked us here last time and we are conscious of that so we’re going to prepare for them the next two days and throw the ball up and see what happens.”

 

ACES GUARD KELSEY PLUM

On what makes it so hard to keep up with Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot:

“Shooters, they are amazing shooters. Unreal. Getting in her face, coming off the screen, coming away from the basket the degree of difficulty is amazing. Obviously you have Courtney, they have great chemistry they’re married so they’re always going to find each other. It’s tough to go to guard. I was proud of Kayla, especially in the fourth, she got in her way and I loved to see that.”

On the key to Las Vegas playing like they did in the fourth quarter:

“They are a really good offensive team, in terms of having shooters in every position and moving the ball really well. They were kind of getting everything they wanted, but we locked down during the fourth.”

On her first four baskets going through:

“I think it just happened. Bill wanted me to get more in the paint and I went in there and it opened up for me and I was able to make some buckets.”

 

ACES GUARD KAYLA MCBRIDE

On overall team effort:

“That’s the big thing with our team. We have so many weapons on our offensive end. We can do it in so many different ways. Plum and I are hitting shots, then A’ja gets involved, the Liz gets involved. It’s kind of crazy, because I scored 16 points in the first half, and I didn’t have to score for the rest of the game. It comes from so many different places, and that’s the dynamic of our team. That’s what makes us so good. We have so many weapons on both ends. Dearica comes in at the 3, she gives us a lot of energy. We score off of our defense and transitions, and we also just score off of the weapons we have on the offensive end. I thought it was a great team effort. You see people with 3 16’s, 2 14’s, a 7-point game, when you have contributions like that, it’s really hard to beat us, especially at home. So, I was really proud of our effort.”

On if the early tip-off time had an impact on Chicago:

“No, I don’t think so. I know Chicago has been on the West Coast, because they just played Los Angeles, so I don’t think the time difference changed anything like that. But you gotta show up and play no matter what time the game is. I thought we did a good job. We gave up a lot of points in the first half, but in the second half only giving up 28 points was huge for us.”