The Las Vegas Aces had the start they needed after a sloppy opening stretch Thursday night.
Then Jessica Shepard became the problem Becky Hammon warned about.
Dallas beat Las Vegas 95-87 at College Park Center, handing the Aces their second straight loss and their first road loss of the season. The Aces fell to 4-3. The Wings improved to 5-3.
Shepard finished with a triple-double, putting up 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. She shot 8-for-13 from the field and 6-for-6 at the line.
Before the game, Hammon said Shepard reminded her of Draymond Green because of the way she facilitates from the five spot, does the dirty work and gets others involved.
“I don’t think you can let her quarterback the game,” Hammon said.
By the fourth quarter, that warning had become the story.
Aces settle after early trouble
Las Vegas did not open cleanly.
The Aces had four turnovers before the first media timeout and trailed 13-9 when Hammon called an early timeout. However, they responded quickly.
Jackie Young missed her first four shots, stretching a drought that carried over from the Atlanta and Los Angeles games. Then she finally broke through with back-to-back baskets.
Young later added a 3-pointer and finished with 15 points, seven assists and three rebounds. She shot 7-for-20 from the field, but the first made basket still mattered after two straight scoreless games.
Chennedy Carter also gave the Aces their usual burst off the bench. She entered Thursday already in the WNBA record book with 120 points off the bench through six games, the most by any reserve through six games in a season.
Carter added 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting in 19 minutes against Dallas.
Las Vegas builds, Dallas answers
The Aces led 26-21 after one quarter and pushed the lead to 53-45 by halftime.
For a while, the offense looked balanced. Las Vegas had 26 paint points by the break, shot 53% from the field and made six 3-pointers in the first half.
Chelsea Gray controlled the middle of the game with passing and composure. She finished with eight points and eight assists. She also went 3-for-3 at the line after taking high contact in the first half.
Meanwhile, Young’s rhythm, Carter’s bench scoring and A’ja Wilson’s shot-making helped Las Vegas build a 13-point lead.
But Dallas kept coming.
The Wings won the third quarter 27-19 and tied the game at 72 entering the fourth. Shepard drove that comeback with scoring, rebounding and passing. Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd also kept pressure on the Aces’ defense.
Fudd makes first start count
Fudd made her first career start for Dallas after scoring 24 points off the bench in the Wings’ previous game against New York.
She made the move matter.
Fudd finished with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Bueckers added 20 points, six assists, three rebounds and two blocks.
Together, Fudd and Bueckers gave Dallas the kind of young scoring punch Hammon pointed to before the game when she said the Aces could not allow clean looks for “A, or Paige, or Arike.”
Arike Ogunbowale did not score from the field, finishing with one point on 0-for-4 shooting. Still, Dallas had enough elsewhere.
Wings take over late
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus briefly put Las Vegas back in front with a 3-pointer early in the fourth, giving the Aces a 75-74 lead.
After that, Dallas took over.
Awak Kuier hit a 3-pointer to put the Wings ahead 77-75. Fudd followed with a jumper. Later, Alysha Clark hit a 3-pointer, Fudd added another and Bueckers made a 3-pointer with 1:59 left to push the Dallas lead to 93-81.
The Aces never recovered.
Dallas outscored Las Vegas 23-15 in the fourth quarter and 50-34 in the second half.
Wilson leads Aces, but finish slips away
Wilson led Las Vegas with 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. However, she shot 10-for-24 and missed her only free throw.
NaLyssa Smith had another active game with nine points and 12 rebounds, including four offensive boards. Parker-Tyus added nine points off the bench, while Jewell Loyd also scored nine.
The Aces had only five turnovers, which should have helped them. Still, Dallas won the glass 39-33, made 10 of 22 from three and went 19-for-22 at the line.
Las Vegas shot 44% from the field and 8-for-20 from three. However, the Aces went just 7-for-12 at the free-throw line.
The loss turned a strong road start into another reminder of what Hammon said before tipoff.
“We’re in improvement mode,” Hammon said. “We’re not a perfect product yet.”
Thursday proved it again. The Aces had control. Dallas had the better response.
Up next
The Aces continue their road trip Sunday, May 31, against Golden State at Chase Center.
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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.
