Aces defense holds Valkyries to brutal slump in stifling first half

It is often said that while offense wins games, defense wins championships, and that was exactly on show in the Las Vegas Aces’ clash against the Golden State Valkyries at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. The Aces, riding on some incredible performances on both ends of the court, appear to be heading towards a blowout victory over Golden State, and it has come in brutal fashion thus far.

In the first half, Las Vegas held the Valkyries to just just 1-15 from the three-point zone, representing a paltry 6.7% efficiency from deep, per a post on X by ESPN Insights. That is also the fourth-lowest three-point percentage in the first half of any WNBA game this campaign, and that was hardly the end of it.

The Aces contested 12 of 15 three-point attempts made by the Valkyries in the first two quarter, and well, Golden State went 0-12 on those shots, which also means that they could only land one of the other three uncontested shots from deep. The results have been brutal.

The defending champions came back from a 23-17 first quarter, and then took things up another gear. They limited the Valkyries to just 13 points in the second quarter, scoring 27 points themselves to bring the lead up to 20 points, effectively ending the game in the first half alone.

The Valkyries’ offense has been crippled as a result, with only Cecilia Zandalasini and Gabby Williams scoring in double digits out of the five starters until the fourth quarter, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Golden State were helped by Kaitlyn Chen, who came off the bench to score 11 points, only their third player to reach double-digits thus far.

For the Aces, A’ja Wilson has once again led from the front with 19 points and nine rebounds, with Jackie Young top-scoring across both teams thus far with 21 points. Chelsea Gray had 15 points and nine assists while NaLyssa Smith also had 15 points, with Jewell Loyd coming off the bench to score 11.

The Aces had a 23-point lead with less than two minutes left in the final quarter, and are well on their way to a blowout.

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