The hunted back to being hunters; Aces swept by Valkyries in playoff semis

LAS VEGAS – The mood inside the Aces’ press conference room wasn’t necessarily what you’d expect from a team that just got swept.

The defending champions dropped their third straight game to the Golden State Valkyries Friday night, losing a grueling overtime thriller 87-77 — ending their title defense at the semifinal stage.

And while the faithful home crowd dispersing all over the Michelob Ultra Arena was understandably disappointed — with the large traveling contingent of Valkyries fans showering their players with celebratory love in one corner of the building — the three people who represented the Aces postgame appeared oddly at peace with the outcome.

The trio makes up three-quarters (sans Jackie Young) of what makes the Aces go. What makes the three-time champions in the last four years the juggernaut they are: the flag bearers and standard setters of the WNBA.

And they were by no means happy. They recognize they are championship-or-bust every year, and they embrace that. They thrive under that type of pressure.

But when head coach Becky Hammon, five-time MVP A’ja Wilson, and the greatest point guard of all time, Chelsea Gray, feel pride in defeat, it’s because they left everything they had to give on the hardwood. And that really puts things into perspective.

For one, the world doesn’t end here. The sun will rise again tomorrow. Two, the league has come leaps and bounds in order to catch up with the Aces. They have been hunted for most of this decade. Now it’s once again their turn to become the hunters.

“I feel like we have created a culture, and a standard, that if we don’t do what people want us to do and have seen us do all the time, they’re like ‘What’s wrong with you?’ or ‘Y’all aren’t the same,’ or ‘Y’all are washed,'” a passionate Wilson said.

“I don’t think we get enough grace when it comes to that. Because we’re still human. We’re still players who are going to miss shots and may not look like ourselves every single day.

“But I also take a lot of pride in knowing that I’m held to that standard. Because I’m going to try and show up and uphold that standard every single opportunity that I get. Because, hell, we created it. So, why not uphold it?”

Wilson admitted that this was a bust year in terms of the expectations. But she refuses to lose sight of what the Aces have done to the league and how they continue to uplift it. And she shouldn’t.

The Aces changed the game as a franchise, and Wilson reshaped how greatness in the WNBA is viewed with five MVPs in nine seasons.

“Legendary,” Gray said of A’ja’s campaign. “I get to play with the best every single day, and it’s the player, and it’s the person… I’m super proud of what she has been able to do… She’s a great person. She’s our leader. We demand a lot out of her, and she expects a lot of herself on both ends of the floor… She’s doing things that haven’t been heard of.”

Wilson didn’t play as well as the world knows she can. However, the 42 minutes she did give were all she had left in the tank.

Wilson led the Aces with 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting, adding 10 rebounds, one steal, and two blocks. She capped off another season where, individually, she competed only against herself, facing a Valkyries team prepared to die in any way that wasn’t an A’ja masterclass.

Matched up against former teammate Kiah Stokes, who turned in a career-defining performance (11 points, 10 rebounds, 5 stocks (three blocks) to help Golden State punch its first ticket to the Finals in just the second year of its existence, Wilson knows she or her team are going nowhere.

In the middle of a run where the Aces have spoiled everyone with their greatness, perhaps this one just wasn’t meant for them. “It’s just not our time, and I’m OK with that,” Wilson added.

The Aces’ play reflected as much. It’s tough to overcome a combined 12-for-35 shooting night from your two best players against any team. Let alone one that is as hungry and as disciplined as head coach Natalie Nakase’s Golden State.

Young recovered somewhat from her 1-for-6 start from the field in the third quarter. She ended with 18 points (6-for-16), but the Aces needed more down the stretch.

To beat this Valkyries team, the Aces had to be at their best. They had to be firing on all cylinders. They had to be prepared to fight until their last breath. And maybe mentally they were. But physically, Hammon’s thin rotation — due to injuries and other reasons — just couldn’t keep up against a well-oiled Valkyries machine that runs 10 deep every night.

However, for a stretch, it looked as though the Aces would live to fight another day. The hosts led 45-36 at halftime, holding Gabby Williams to just four points on 2-for-8 shooting.

The third quarter, though, summed up the series.

The Valkyries erupted on a 17-2 run that flipped the game on its head. The Aces mustered just seven points in the period. All of that with Williams on the bench (played just 1:19). Meanwhile, A’ja added two points to her 10 from the break, shooting 0-for-5 in the frame.

The control of proceedings slipped from the Aces’ grasp so quickly it was uncharacteristic. But their championship mettle didn’t fail them. They had their chance to win it at the fourth-quarter buzzer — on their terms.

Tied at 71-71, Hammon ran a play for the clutchest player in the league. Latching onto a handoff from Wilson at the top of the key, Gray dribbled inside the three-point line before pulling up. She let fly a 14-foot middy that bottoms nine times out of ten.

Kaila Charles and the helping Stokes contested it well, but it was as clean a look as the Aces could have hoped for. And for a moment, over a quarter of the ball was inside the basket. Everyone in the building thought it was money. So did Gray. But as if it was all predetermined, the ball rimmed out — giving the Valkyries new life and snatching the rest of what remained inside the champs.

“I should’ve hit it,” Gray said. “I’ve hit that shot a thousand times. It just didn’t go my way.”

Gray added that she cashed out on similar attempts in the first half, and she wasn’t lying. She set the table for the Aces in the opening 20 minutes — scoring 15 of her 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting.

She went 1-for-6 after the interval, and the Aces just couldn’t live with that. That was the biggest issue in this series.

The Aces will go as far as the ‘Big 3′ will take them regardless. They seldom need much help. But they needed a little more from the others to get by Golden State. And they couldn’t get it, be it in scoring or rebounding — the latter being the biggest thorn in the Aces’ side.

Vegas was outrebounded by eight in this one (43-35). The margin was a whopping 27 in Golden State’s favor in Game 1 and four in Game 2. Losing on the glass in every round of the fight, despite making adjustments, is a recipe for disaster — raising important questions about roster construction this offseason.

“We knew [rebounding] was an issue coming into the season,” Hammon said. “There are people that have a knack for the glass. It’s in their DNA, like passing is in [Gray]’s DNA… I wouldn’t say we have that Dennis Rodman person who just has it in their DNA.”

NaLyssa Smith, dubbed the chairwoman of the boards by Aces’ PA announcer Chet Buchanan, was the closest the Aces had to an interior enforcer. Her season-ending injury in August proved to be the beginning of the end credits.

Williams delivered the fatal blows to the Aces’ campaign in overtime, responsible for eight of the Valkyries’ 16 points — outscoring Vegas (6) on her own. Former Ace Tiffany Hayes and familiar foe Kayla Thornton (ex-New York Liberty) chipped in four apiece.

And just like that, the fairytale was over. The dream of another repeat shattered. A drawing board wiped clean and ready to be returned to next year.

For now, until they inevitably meet again, the student (Nakase was Hammon’s assistant for two years) has become the master. And it is the Valkyries who will face the Atlanta Dream in the Finals next week.