The Las Vegas Aces delivered a commanding performance at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Sunday, dismantling the Golden State Valkyries 92-73 to secure a convincing 19-point victory on their home floor.
Jackie Young led all scorers with 21 points, providing the offensive engine Las Vegas needed to pull away from their Bay Area visitors. Chelsea Gray orchestrated the Aces’ attack with a game-high 9 assists, keeping the offense flowing and creating opportunities throughout the contest. A’ja Wilson anchored the interior with a team-best 9 rebounds, asserting her presence on the glass and making life difficult for Golden State’s frontcourt.
For the Valkyries, the night was a struggle from start to finish. Cecilia Zandalasini paced Golden State with just 12 points — a modest total that underscored the team’s broader offensive difficulties. Kayla Thornton led the Valkyries with 5 rebounds, while Kiah Stokes distributed a team-high 3 assists. The supporting cast simply could not generate enough consistent production to keep pace with Las Vegas.
The numbers behind Golden State’s defeat tell a stark story. The Valkyries shot just 28-of-67 from the field, converting at a 42 percent clip, but their three-point shooting was particularly damaging to their cause — they connected on only 5 of 30 attempts from beyond the arc, a brutal 17 percent mark that left far too many possessions empty-handed. When a team launches 30 three-pointers and makes fewer than one in six, it becomes nearly impossible to stay competitive against a well-organized Aces squad.
Golden State also struggled at the free-throw line, converting 12 of 18 attempts for 67 percent — a rate that cost the Valkyries additional points they could ill afford to leave on the board. Turnovers compounded the misery, with Golden State committing 10 total, providing Las Vegas with extra possessions to extend their advantage. The Valkyries did manage 11 offensive rebounds, giving themselves second-chance opportunities, but their inability to convert those chances into points meant the extra possessions went largely to waste.
Las Vegas, playing in front of their home crowd, controlled the game’s tempo and made Golden State pay for every mistake. Chelsea Gray’s 9 assists reflected an Aces offense that moved the ball with purpose and found open looks consistently — a sharp contrast to Golden State’s isolation-heavy, turnover-prone approach on the other end.
The Valkyries did record 7 steals, showing some defensive activity, but it was not nearly enough to disrupt Las Vegas’s rhythm or erase the mounting deficit. Golden State also picked up a technical foul during the contest, an added frustration on a night when little went their way.
The 19-point final margin was a reflection of two teams trending in opposite directions on this particular evening — the Aces sharp and efficient at home, the Valkyries unable to find their footing offensively against a defense that forced them into poor shot selection and costly mistakes throughout the game.
