The Las Vegas Aces knew exactly what needed to change after their Game 1 loss in the five-game semifinal series. They needed more fight, more movement and, most importantly, more presence on the glass. And while A'ja Wilson and her teammates fixed much of that in Game 2 on Wednesday, the Golden State Valkyries have left them just one loss away from elimination.
On Sunday, the Aces got dominated 52-25 on the boards in the series opener, but they narrowed that gap in Game 2. Yet for Kalani Brown, that improvement still was not enough. The Valkyries continued to make the kind of plays that can decide a playoff game, and Brown believes Las Vegas has to match that edge before it is too late.
"We all gotta box out. It's not just their post players getting it. It's their guards too, flying in there. Very scrappy team, and we just gotta be scrappy with them, getting on the floor," Brown said in her postgame interview, as per an X post by Arion Armeniakos . "Those ugly, long rebounds from shooting threes – we just have to have those, those 50-50 balls. Becky says, 'Win the glass,' and if you win the glass, you win the series, so we just got to do that."
Unlike many teams that are dependent on their post players to get rebounds for the team, the Valkyries are not winning those possessions because of their size alone. They are getting guards involved, chasing long rebounds and making the plays that turn loose balls into extra opportunities. In their latest game, Kiah Stokes led the Valkyries with seven rebounds, while Gabby Williams and Cecilia Zandalasini added five and four, respectively. Kaila Charles also grabbed five rebounds off the bench.
The Aces did improve on the glass, finishing Game 2 with a 30-25 rebounding deficit. And while that difference may not look nearly as alarming as what happened in Game 1, it still gave Golden State extra chances in a game decided by just two points. The Valkyries grabbed 10 offensive rebounds to the Aces' six, keeping possessions alive when Las Vegas was trying to complete its comeback.
So when head coach Becky Hammon was asked about the Aces' rebounding effort, she made it clear that the improvement still was not enough.
"Better, not good enough. I think they had six boards. Still outrebounded us. So, not good enough, but better," Hammon said during the post-game interview.
Still, the Aces showed far more fight than they did in Game 1, coming back from a 17-point deficit and finally taking their first lead of the series at 76-74 with 1:36 remaining.
A'ja Wilson also found another gear after halftime, scoring 18 of her 24 points in the second half, while Chelsea Gray added 19 points and six assists. So for a team that struggled to generate offense on Sunday, the Aces suddenly looked capable of flipping the series. They just could not finish it.
Veronica Burton buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 41.5 seconds remaining to push her team to a 79-76 lead. From there, Golden State held on for an 83-81 victory. Williams followed her 25-point Game 1 with 20 more points, while the Valkyries once again found enough from their supporting cast to withstand a furious Las Vegas comeback.
The result is especially difficult for A'ja Wilson and the Aces because they have now lost back-to-back matchups against the very team they swept 3-0 during the regular season. Golden State has taken a 2-0 lead and is heading to Las Vegas with a chance to close out the defending champions. So the Aces are left with virtually no margin for error, and Brown already knows where that starts – win the glass.
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