The reigning, two-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces have their backs against the wall following a Game 2 defeat at the hands of the New York Liberty in the semifinals of this year’s playoffs.
Much like in Game 1 of the series, this contest went down to the wire – with the Liberty winning a second game on their home court 88-84 and taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
Part of the blame for the result could be placed on the shoulders of star guard Kelsey Plum – who shot a sub-par 2-for-9 from the field and 2-for-5 from 3-point range to haul in only six points while turning the ball over three times.
As a result, Plum got an earful from Aces head coach Becky Hammon – with video capturing the coach berating the star guard after calling a timeout.
After the game, Hammon explained her outrage at a press conference.
Becky Hammon going off at Kelsey Plum on the sidelines👀👀👀pic.twitter.com/ZFO5XWmC5B
— AK (@Sudharsan_AK10) October 2, 2024
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon was seen berating star guard Kelsey Plum
Plum shot a poor 2-of-9 from the field and only managed six points with three turnovers
‘I want to call a timeout because I’m so frustrated at them. Which I did tonight,’ Hammon said.
‘I’m not mad at the officials. I’m not mad at the New York Liberty. I’m mad at us.’
Las Vegas was led by a 27 point, seven rebound, four assist performance from star center A’ja Wilson.
Aside from Plum, the rest of the Aces starting-five managed double-digit points. Jackie Young put up 17, Chelsea Gray managed 14, and Alysha Clark dropped 13.
Off the bench, guard Tiffany Hayes put up 10 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
As for the victors, the Liberty were led by a 24 point, nine rebound, five assist performance from star guard Sabrina Ionescu. The former Oregon product shot 9-of-18 from the field.
Fellow stars Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones also put up double-digit points (15 and 14 respectively), while guard Courtney Vandersloot managed 12 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Las Vegas will host the Liberty for Game 3 on Friday night – where a defeat would spell the end to their hopes of three-peating.
