The Aces got what they needed Sunday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena: a 94-78 preseason win over the Japan women’s national team and a clean first look at how this roster might function when the games start to count.
Las Vegas played without A’ja Wilson (right arm) and Dana Evans (left leg). So the night became a rotation test, a conditioning check and an early audition for minutes that will be hard to find once the full roster is healthy.
First-quarter warning, then Vegas control
The Aces jumped out 20-7 in the first 4:25, then watched Japan respond with a barrage from deep to tie it 30-30 after one. Japan’s Mai Yamamoto hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, forcing Las Vegas to actually defend the arc and communicate through speed and spacing.
From there, the Aces settled in. They won the second quarter, then broke the game open with a third-quarter surge that turned a tight exhibition into a comfortable finish.
Carter makes noise, the core looks like the core
Chennedy Carter led the Aces with 18 points in her first preseason action with the team, exactly the kind of burst that keeps a training camp contract from feeling like a flyer.
Jackie Young scored 17 points and filled up the sheet with four assists and three steals. Chelsea Gray added 16 points with four assists, two steals and two blocks, the steady “Point Gawd” line that tends to show up even when the game is supposed to be informal.
Kierstan Bell scored 14 points, hit three 3-pointers and added three assists. Jewell Loyd finished with 13 points and three 3s, while NaLyssa Smith posted the only double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds along with three blocks.
Those numbers matched what the team posted afterward, and for a preseason opener without Wilson, that balance matters. It showed Las Vegas can generate offense in multiple ways while Hammon sorts the rotation.
How they won it: paint, rebounds, rim protection
The Aces didn’t shoot it well from deep, going 8 of 34 from 3-point range. Still, they controlled the areas that tend to travel.
Las Vegas won the paint 36-24, out-rebounded Japan 44-31 and finished with 11 blocks. They also lived at the line, going 22 of 26 on free throws. In April, that’s often the first sign a team knows what it wants to be, even while the perimeter timing catches up.
What it means going forward
This wasn’t about a perfect night. It was about answers.
Carter gave the staff an early reason to keep watching. Bell looked comfortable in a scoring role. Smith looked like the kind of steady frontcourt piece that makes lineups work. Young and Gray looked like the same engines they’ve been.
The Aces close their preseason slate Sunday, May 3 in Austin against the Dallas Wings. Then the calendar starts tightening fast toward May 9 and the title defense opener against Phoenix at T-Mobile Arena.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
