Halftime response proves crucial in Aces’ bounceback victory

After the shocking 53-point loss to the Minnesota Lynx last season, the Aces fired off 17 straight victories to propel them to their third championship in four years. Head coach Becky Hammon and the players made it clear that that should not be the standard, but there is still something to say about a team that does not allow one bad game to bleed into the next. That resilience came out strong for the defending champions in their first road matchup of the new season, soundly defeating the Los Angeles Sparks 105-78 on Sunday.

“It’s lovely,” said Aces guard Chelsea Gray in her postgame press conference. “Because of the loss, we have an opportunity right there in front of us…we have to flip the page super quick. Even if we had a day in between, we would still be looking at it and thinking about it before we play again.

So, while I don’t like back to backs, this one was kind of nice to flip the page and play again. ” Battle of wills This game was far closer than the final score indicated, with the Sparks whittling down an early Aces lead to just one point at the end of the first half. Hammon needed a response from her team to shut down the momentum, and they delivered in spades.

The Aces got out to an early 12-4 run to start the third quarter, leading to them putting up their best offensive quarter with 33 points on the Sparks. The dominant effort over that ten minutes would prove to be the backbreaker, as the Aces quickly stifled any further attempts at a comeback. “I got on the starters pretty good from the last game, and so I wanted them to set a better tone, which they did,” said Hammon as she discussed the first half from her team.