Nothing shy about Young’s all-around game for Aces

LAS VEGAS >> Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young has made tremendous strides in her five years as a pro since going No. 1 in the 2019 draft.

As a rookie out of Notre Dame, she was a dynamic and predictable drive-toher-right, mid-range specialist. She averaged 9.7 points per game over her first three seasons and improved progressively each year under then-coach Bill Laimbeer.

But when Becky Hammon arrived, and assistant Tyler Marsh was added to the coaching staff, little did Young know her game was about to take a longrange turn.

She went from being a 28.6% shooter from 3-point territory to 44.3% the past two seasons.

“A lot of hard work, just trying to get better each offseason,” Young said after scoring 26 points in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday. “Spent a lot of time in the gym working on my game, but I have to give a lot of credit to Tyler. I mean, whenever he came here that really changed my game my career really.

“The most obvious one was shooting 3s. I was able to tweak my shot a little bit last year and it’s made the biggest difference.”

In Las Vegas’ 99-82 win over the New York Liberty, Young hit 9 of 15 (60%) from the field, including 5 of 8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc. It marked the 15th time she’s hit for 60% or better from the floor, and 11th time from 3-point range.

After Hammon told Marsh what she envisioned, Young became his first project.

With physical attributes, athleticism and a strong work ethic already in place, he immediately went to work on her shooting.

“She just trusted me, Becky’s vision, and the work we put in, all of which helped establish a relationship moving forward,” Marsh said of Young.

It goes beyond her offense. Young held New York sharpshooter and reigning 3-point champion Sabrina Ionescu to just seven points on 2 of 7 shooting, including 1 of 5 from beyond the arc.