Maybe the Aces should ban celebrations before home games? It doesn’t seem to bring them any luck whatsoever. The banner raising ceremony finally happened at Michelob Ultra Arena on Saturday, May 23, energizing the crowd and officially closing out the 2025 season.
West Coast Showdown
The Aces faced off against the Sparks and the two teams were almost evenly matched, with Aces chasing the lead most of the game. Defensively, the hometown team struggled which is something they’ve been working through in practice. The offense wasn’t asleep, they were simply just outscored when it mattered most.
A’ja Wilson put up 24 points and snagged 15 rebounds for the Aces, but Kelsey Plum could barely miss a bucket and scored a season-high 38 points. NaLyssa Smith’s offensive rebounds are nothing to sneeze at however, neither is her ability to draw a foul in her favor. She nabbed a total of 22 points being the invigorating force that she is.
Smith’s Growth and Young’s Struggles
When we asked Smith at the postgame press conference about her thought process when a shot goes up, she said, “That’s something that coach tells me that’s my role on this team; crash the boards every time, give us a second chance. Just always bringing that energy is something that I’m trying to do consistently for this team.”
Smith’s energy aside, the team’s offense was hot and cold with Jackie Young going scoreless yet again. She recently posted on Threads that “playing with a heavy heart is never easy,” and Head Coach Becky Hammon backed her up when asked about Young’s struggles.
“We know she’s playing with a heavy heart. Basketball-wise, [she] probably hasn’t gotten off to the start that she wants. However, we’re going to give her every support system that we possibly can. The reason why she actually played a little less tonight was because of foul trouble, not anything else. I don’t care that she’s not scoring; she impacts the game in too many other ways to not put her in the game,” Hammon said, adding that she’ll be checking in on Young.
When in Doubt, Bring ‘Em Out
While Young might be struggling with things off the court, the rest of the team has stepped up to alleviate some of the gaps; sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Chennedy Carter has been a revelation for the Aces and scored 23 points off the bench. Chelsea Gray with 12 and Jewell Loyd with 10 couldn’t quite get the win on Saturday night.
While a loss is never a great thing, the Aces are a far cry from the broken down slot machine (sorry for the very Vegas analogy) that they were in at the beginning of 2025’s season. The Aces bench is the strongest it’s ever been between Carter and Loyd, and they still have Dana Evans waiting in the wings.
The Las Vegas Aces will make their way to Texas to take on the Dallas Wings on May 28.
I am a published writer, full-time editor, an events and entertainment reporter and mother of one. Comic books, drag queens, women’s basketball, queer films and TV shows are my bread and butter.
