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Las Vegas Aces

Las Vegas Aces Lead Wire-To-Wire in 35-Point "Revenge" Win over New York

June 15, 2019 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Las Vegas Aces News Release


LAS VEGAS (June 14, 2019)- Las Vegas (3-3) picked up the win in its "revenge game" against the New York Liberty (2-5) Friday evening as the Aces led wire-to-wire in a 100-65 victory. It was just five days ago that the Liberty handed Las Vegas an 88-78 defeat.

KEY RUNS

Las Vegas opened the game on a 13-2 run over the first two-plus minutes and never trailed, leading by as many as 42 points. Liz Cambage scored seven points in the opening run.

KEY STATS

Las Vegas shot 54.1 percent from the floor for the game, including 68.6 percent (24-of-35) in the first half. New York connected on 32.4 percent from the field.

The Aces outrebounded the Liberty 46-21 including 38-18 on the defensive glass.

GAME NOTES

Las Vegas made its first eight straight shots from the field

Liz Cambage scored in double figures for the 37th straight game, which is the longest active streak in the WNBA.

Kelsey Plum scored a season-high 19 points.

Kayla McBride scored in double figures for the sixth straight time this season (18 points).

Kayla McBride connected on a three-pointer for the 24th straight game which is the second longest active streak in the WNBA (Diana Taurasi, 44).

The Aces led 66-31 at the half. The 35-point lead was the second largest halftime lead in WNBA history. Those 66 points are also the fourth most ever scored in a first half in WNBA history.

NEXT GAME

Las Vegas travels to Minnesota Sunday, June 16 for a 4:00 pm PT tip against the Lynx.

Bill Laimbeer Quotes

Opening Statement...

Obviously we got off to a good start. Liz set the tone for us in the first few minutes of the game said, "Give me the ball, let me put it in the basket no one can guard me". Snowballed from there. Plum played a phenomenal first half. Starters showed what they could do. It's only one game. So it means nothing other than we won one game. Other than that, we got a lot of people some playing time. We got some confidence boosting going on right now with our ball club. And we're on to Minnesota.

About the Aces defense that led to a hot start...

Well we played our normal defense, you know, we are the number one team in field goal percentage against. We are the number one team in defense rebounding percentage so those are two of our great traits. We aren't over bearing but we are a solid defensive team. And when we rebound the basketball like we did, we can run. We're very dangerous in the open court and how we attack but we get our bigs down there deep in the paint and give them the ball.

On team's offense...

We have a lot of quality players especially our offensive talent. We're still learning each other we are still learning what we are capable of and they know they are growing together and that's the positive is it's one game, one half, and we played extremely well in one half but I think they are learning what they are capable of and how to play off each other.

On rebounding off the loss from last week...

I told them, "We sucked". We shot the ball poorly we gave them too many offensive rebounds and we weren't the team we wanted to be. And we had a long conversation the other day when we got back to Las Vegas about what do we want to be and how do we want to play and how do we want to be accountable to our franchise and our city and we came out today with enough fire and energy to get it done.

Kelsey Plum Quotes

You and Bill had a heart-to-heart this week, how did that go?

"It went really well. Bill is very clear cut about what he wants and I think for me I just needed some clarity and he gave that to me. He showed me some things on film that I needed to do tonight. I'm just grateful that he stuck with me. It shouldn't have taken me this long to get going. It was a great meeting and hopefully moving forward we'll just keep it going."

Your defense was outstanding, was that part of the talk?

"We talked ball pressure. We played them a couple days earlier and they were able to have their way with us. Tina is one of the best in the league when she gets the ball where she wants it and I was just trying to do my part and catch it a little bit higher, outside of the lane, and just make those passes in there and that's what I focused on during the game.

How much is this game X's and O's and how much of it is just trying to balance?

"It's been a little difficult for me, there's a lot of pieces that need the ball and I'm playing more off the ball which is a new feel for me. Coach is talking about trying to attack, trying to set up other people and push it in. transition. I definitely know that A'ja needs the ball, Liz needs the ball, so me trying to play off of them is taking a little bit of time but it's definitely getting better moving forward.

Liz Cambage Quotes

Thoughts on not getting as much playing time in the second half

"Yeah, I was out because we were up by 40 points so there was no reason for us to play, we could get the second group in a bit. I'm feeling good, I didn't have to play too much tonight, so I got more in the tank for Sunday."

Do you mind being in that role, where you can be a cheerleader on the side?

"Yeah, it's chill. I think it's great that we have a team that's 11 deep. It's a lot of fun being in this group, so many scorers and just really focusing on defense at the moment."

Was it a concentrated effort that your teammates were going to force-feed you in the first 4 minutes?

"No, clearly I'm a target, and the girls were just feeding it inside. Pushing it inside opens it up for the rest of them. The inside will open up the outside and the outside will open up the inside, and that's what is so great about this team."

What do you feel is your biggest contribution to the Aces as being the MVP runner-up?

"I don't really think about that. I just focus on which game we have, each day. I don't care about individual awards or anything like that. I focus on winning, and I focus on our team being the greatest it can be. So, I take it game by game. We got Minnesota on Sunday, so I focus on defense against them and doing what we can to get the game."

Katie Smith Quotes

What went wrong tonight?

"In the first half they came out and popped us in the mouth and we had no answer. We evened up, third and fourth quarter we tied but they came out and got on us early, but we did not hold our ground and fight back."

What was the key for the Aces offense tonight?

"Everyone was knocking down shots, Cambage, Aja Wilson, and guards. I thought they hit shots, but I don't think our defense was great, but they were able to put the ball in the hole early. They shot at almost 70% from the field in the first half and that's not going to go well."

What changes are needed in order to win the next game in Los Angeles?

"Not a lot of changes. Play better, play harder, start the game better, defensively be smarter, and put the ball in the hole for ourselves."

Kia Nurse Quotes

What adjustments do you make to get a win in Los Angeles next?

"Have a short memory and shoot the ball better."

What do you take from tonight's loss?

"There are things we can continue to get better at, obviously they played well tonight, credit to them. It's a quick turnaround, we have to get on the bus and get down to LA and make sure tomorrow we play better than we did today."

What are your thoughts on Kelsey Plum's performance tonight?

"She showed in college that she can be a stand out player at any moment and she stepped up big today and knocked a lot of shots, our defense should've been better."

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