UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- After an 81-54 loss to the Indiana Fever on Thursday night, the Las Vegas Aces bounced back Sunday with a comfortable 86-68 road win over the last-place Connecticut Sun.
"I mean, we got embarrassed against Indiana," said three-time MVP A'ja Wilson, who paced Las Vegas with 19 points. "We understood that we didn't want to go down that road anymore. We get tired of being in that space. So for this game, and hopefully moving forward, we find our joy in the game. And particularly the defensive end, we got stops. ... That's how we got rocking and rolling, and that's what we're going to have to continue to do."
The Aces got their record back to .500 (9-9), and the Sun (2-16) extended their franchise-worst losing streak to 10 games.
Coach Becky Hammon slammed her players following Thursday's loss to the Caitlin Clark-less Fever for their "complete lack of professionalism ... with that effort." The defeat snapped a 16-game winning streak for Las Vegas against Indiana and was tied for the largest win by an underdog this season. Hammon was much more pleased with her team's effort Sunday, especially on the defensive end, where the Aces held the Sun to a 38.1% shooting clip (28.8% from 3).
"Maybe even on a night we didn't shoot particularly well, the defense was there, and that's what I'm preaching every night," Hammon said. "Our defense has to be there every night."
The Aces, 2022 and 2023 WNBA champions, have been perennial contenders in recent years but have had a shaky start to the 2025 campaign. They are currently slotted eighth in the league standings, which would grant them the final spot in the playoffs if the season ended today.
Part of their struggles, Hammon said Sunday, has been needing to incorporate so many new players: Las Vegas traded for All-Star guard Jewell Loyd this offseason in a transaction that sent former Aces standout Kelsey Plum to Los Angeles. Las Vegas also overhauled its bench and just last week traded for NaLyssa Smith, who earned her first start for the Aces on Sunday and finished with a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds).
"I think people take for granted how many new pieces we have, like we have to teach all over again," Hammon said. "It's all brand new. ... It's been a process. Every team goes at a different pace. And I think for me right now, you just continue to teach, continue to demand that effort.
"We're still developing who we are, the identity of this team, but we're getting there, you know, crawling. I would like to be walking or striding at this point, but as long as we're moving in the right direction and I'm seeing progress, I'm happy with that."
Las Vegas has an opportunity to prove it is still among the top tier of WNBA teams on Tuesday, when the Aces face the defending champion New York Liberty in Brooklyn. New York, currently third in the standings, has had Las Vegas' number in recent years, winning seven of the past eight matchups (including playoff meetings) dating back to the start of the 2024 season.
Hammon said the Aces should benefit from stars Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young playing between only 20 and 24 minutes Sunday.
"We know New York is a high movement team, very physical team," Hammon said. "So we're going to need a lot of juice and energy on the defensive end, and then hopefully we can play out of our defense a little bit, which is always good to get some easy ones in. Their defense is long, it's very active, so we'll have to come up with a good game plan offensively, but definitely defensively, we need those legs."
Against New York or otherwise, the Aces still get everyone's best shot, Hammon and Gray said Sunday, even if they aren't quite as dominant as they've been in past years.
"I think people like beating us. We've been pretty good in this league for the last few years, and people don't forget that," Hammon said. "It's actually [a] compliment that you get people's best shot because they're still looking at you a certain way, right? They're still remembering and they want to kick your butt."