ARLINGTON, Texas — From an aesthetic standpoint, the Las Vegas Aces‘ semifinal series-clinching 64-61 victory over the Dallas Wings on Friday got a thumbs-down from Aces coach Becky Hammon.
But Hammon and the Aces were happy all the work they’ve done on defense this season paid off. That was the key to finishing their 3-0 sweep and giving them plenty of time to prepare for the WNBA Finals, which will start in Las Vegas on Oct. 8.
Las Vegas held the Wings scoreless in the final five minutes, finishing on an 11-0 run. As great as the Aces can look offensively — they led the WNBA in scoring (92.8 PPG) during a 34-6 regular season — their improvement on defense really stood out Friday night. The Aces also led the league in defensive rating (99.2) this season.
“This was a real gut-check type of win,” Hammon said. “Kudos to our defense holding it down and giving us a chance to crawl back into that game. Not the prettiest of games. We’re happy to be walking out of here with a win.
“At the end of the day, you have to take a look at…
