Grinding style continues to notch wins

Led by Wilson, four players had at least 18 points

Aces coach Bill Laimbeer entered the postgame news conference singing a tune from Mary Poppins, “Grind, grind, grind on that grindstone.”

The Aces were locked into a battle with the Atlanta Dream for three-plus quarters, but they used a 14-2 run early in the fourth to build a 14-point lead and came away with an 89-79 win Saturday at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

“That’s what we’re doing right now, we’re grinding out wins,” Laimbeer said. “They’re games we’re supposed to win, and sometimes it’s not easy — nothing’s easy, actually. But we are grinding them out.”

A’ja Wilson had 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the Aces (14-4). Angel McCoughtry, Kayla McBride and Jackie Young each scored 18.

Betnijah Laney had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Dream (5-14). Chennedy Carter finished with 19 points and seven assists, and Courtney Williams added 18 points and seven rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

“Jackie time”

Young scored a career-high 20 points in each of the previous two games. She finished just shy of that mark Saturday and added seven rebounds and six assists with one turnover.

She scored nine over a 3:24 span, including seven in a row, and took over the game during that stretch.

“When her hometown paper talked to me the other day, and they said Jackie took over (a previous game), I said, ‘ Yeah, she did,’ and they said, ‘Down here, we call that Jackie time,” Laimbeer said. “Tonight, it was Jackie time.”

Young got it done efficiently, making 8 of 11 shots. She’s shooting 63.2 percent in the past three games.

McCoughtry feasts on former team

McCoughtry scored the first six points for the Aces and had 12 with 9:08 to go in the first half. That helped keep the Aces in the game, as Atlanta was energetic early and led by as many as five in the first quarter.

“It’s always special for me to play Atlanta,” said McCoughtry, who played her first 10 seasons with the Dream. “But it was more about fighting for these wins. Everybody is scratching and clawing at this point, everybody is trying to make the playoffs, so we get it. We know it’s going to be tough.”

Atlanta had the ball with a chance to tie early in the fourth quarter, but McCoughtry jumped a passing lane and made two free throws after a clear-path foul. Laimbeer said McCoughtry disrupted Atlanta defensively in the fourth quarter, which was key to the Aces pulling away.

Aces hurt by turnovers

Atlanta shot 44.7 percent from the field and was 1-for-12 from 3-point range, but it shot 13 more times than the Aces because of 17 Las Vegas turnovers.

That was uncharacteristic for the Aces, who are second in the WNBA for fewest turnovers with 13.0 per game.

Up next

The Aces will meet the Indiana Fever at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Las Vegas won the first meeting 98-79 on Aug. 11.

Mike Carlson The Associated Press The Aces’ Angel McCoughtry spins past Atlanta’s Shekinna Stricklen on the way for two of her 18 points. Las Vegas put together a late run to beat the Dream and improve to 14-4 for the season.