The Las Vegas Aces suffered a 111-58 home loss to the Minnesota Lynx, the second-biggest defeat in WNBA history. The Lynx dominated with disciplined engagement, Kayla McBride hitting eight threes in the first half, Napheesa Collier adding 18 before exiting injured, and Jessica Shepard posting 18 points and 14 rebounds. Head coach Becky Hammon called the performance a grade F and sought immediate recovery. The loss left Vegas 14-14 and jeopardized homecourt advantage, but the team responded by winning 11 straight games, recording 25 wins and clinching the WNBA's third seed.
It was right around the time everyone left them for dead that the Las Vegas Aces began showing signs of life. At the start of August, the Minnesota Lynx rudely welcomed them back from the All-Star break by nearly doubling them up in Vegas; the 111-58 game was the second-biggest loss in WNBA history, and the worst defeat at home.
The score alone was insulting, but the Lynx mocked the Aces by example, too. Where Vegas's level of engagement wavered from one possession to the next, the Lynx never relented. Kayla McBride, a former Ace, made eight threes on eight attempts in just the first half. Early MVP favorite Napheesa Collier exited with an injury 26 minutes into her night, but chipped in 18 points and a couple of steals before she left.
The loss to Minnesota dropped Vegas to 14-14 on the season, not quite bad enough to miss the playoffs altogether, but still bad enough to make homecourt advantage feel like a real long shot. "We have to move on," Hammon said, as if trying to foreclose questions about the many things that went wrong that evening. "We have another game tomorrow. We have to get the win tomorrow."
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