The Las Vegas Aces missed out on a golden opportunity to clinch a first-round bye in loss to the Atlanta Dream. The Dream has the worst record in the league coming into the game at 7-25. They were able to pull off a bit of an upset on Thursday night. Atlanta won the game 78-74, the Aces were ahead for the first three quarters, but the Atlanta Dream went on a 9-0 run in the fourth and was able to pull the game out.
The loss for the Aces put them behind the Los Angeles Sparks for the third seed in the WNBA playoff standings. The Sparks also own the tiebreaker if the teams end with the same record. Also, the Las Vegas Aces are now only a half-game ahead of the Sky for the fourth seed. But all the Aces have to do is win their last game or the Chicago Sky lose, and they can wrap up the fourth seed.
Elizabeth Williams led the Dream in scoring with 20 points and eight rebounds. She shot 7-14 from the field. Brittney Sykes added 15, and Renee Montgomery scored 14 points to help lead Atlanta to victory. Monique Billings scored just three points, but she went to work on boards and grabbed 14 rebounds.
A’ja Wilson scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds; she also had a career-high seven blocked shots. Liz Cambage got off to a hot start scoring 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Cambage only played 13 minutes because she left in the second half due to a leg injury. Wilson and Cambage were the only Aces that scored in the double figures. Kayla McBride struggled, she shot 4 of 11 from the field and missed all five of her three-point shots. McBride scored just eight points.
Losing to the Dream is unacceptable for a team like the Aces fighting for playoff position; this is a game you have to win. Hopefully, Las Vegas can shake it off and close out the season with a win against the Phoenix Mercury Sunday. Also, I hope Liz Cambage is not seriously hurt; it would not be good if she had to miss the playoffs.
