May 17, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) reacts after getting fouled after a made basket in the first quarter against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Two teams that lost their season-opening games are hunting for their first win when the Las Vegas Aces face the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night in Uncasville, Conn.
The Sun led most of the way before wilting late and falling 90-85 to the visiting Washington Mystics on Sunday in the team coaching debut of Rachid Meziane.
One day earlier, the Aces were outclassed while losing 92-78 to the host New York Liberty.
The opening result frustrated Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon.
“We just have a lot of work to do. Plain and simple,” Hammon said. “I thought New York played well. They were the better team. They outplayed us in basically every area.”
Three-time league MVP A’ja Wilson started well with 31 points and 16 rebounds for her 100th career double-double. She ranks sixth in WNBA history in that category.
The individual performance meant little to Wilson in a game that saw Las Vegas trail by as many as 17 points.
“Not a good outing for us,” Wilson said. “That only means we have a lot more work that we need to do, which is something I can go back to the drawing board and figure it out. … It’s just the beginning.”
Prized Aces offseason acquisition Jewell Lloyd struggled with just five points on 2-of-10 shooting.
The Sun reached the conference semifinals last season before losing to the Minnesota Lynx and then revamping the roster. Stars Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner were among the departures as were fellow starters Brionna Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris.
Coach Stephanie White also exited to coach the Indiana Fever, leading to Connecticut rebuilding on the fly.
Holdover Olivia Nelson-Ododa moved into the starting lineup and had 18 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Washington.
“I think that because everybody’s so new, I think we’re hungry, and so I think that’s something that you can’t really teach,” Nelson-Ododa said. “And so, just knowing that people are like-minded with the same goal, we really just want to win. We want to get out there and play as hard as we can and compete.”
Meziane liked the effort but would have preferred his club had protected an early 15-point lead.
“It’s not how we want to start our season, but sometimes, a losing game, I don’t want to say it’s a good foundation, but it’s something we can use to change little things,” Meziane said.
Tina Charles is back for a second tour of duty with the Sun and led the way 23 points and 10 rebounds to extend her all-time-record double-double count to 195.
–Field Level Media
