The two-time defending champion Aces are the measuring stick of the WNBA.
That’s what Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon had been saying all week. It’s easy to see why, too.
Beyond their championship pedigree, the Aces boast arguably the best roster in the league with a starting five made up almost entirely of Olympians. Their engine — A’ja Wilson — is a two-time MVP who has seemingly only gotten better over the last year.
When it comes to measuring up, the Sky faltered, losing 95-83 on Thursday at Wintrust Arena.
“We made a lot of mistakes,” Weatherspoon said. “We recognize the mistakes we made and where we need to get better. We’re playing against a very good basketball team. Championship DNA over there. Not saying we don’t have that DNA, but they’ve won. They’ve been there. They know, and the momentum they started to gain, they held on to it.”
On an individual basis, however, rookie Angel Reese continues to prove just how well she stacks up.
She had 18 points and 11 rebounds, becoming the youngest player in WNBA history to have nine consecutive double-doubles. She tied Candace Parker for most consecutive double-doubles in a season.
Parker owns the longest double-double streak in WNBA history with 12, which she got between 2009 and 2010. Sylvia Fowles has the second-longest streak with 10 from 2011 to 2012.
“The biggest thing that I see from Angel is just her speed and the want to get the basketball,” Wilson said. “I feel like you don’t see that from a lot of players all the time. It’s that second and third effort to go get the basketball. She has that in her.”
Wilson’s matchup with Reese was highly anticipated. If the Aces are the measuring stick of the WNBA, then Wilson is the standard for bigs in the league.
Reese and Kamilla Cardoso split the responsibility of guarding her.
At one point, Cardoso couldn’t do anything but laugh when Wilson demonstrated her impeccable footwork, dancing around the rookie and up to the rim.
Reese’s postgame takeaway was succinct.
“She has a motor,” Reese said. “Her motor continues to work throughout the game.”
The best anyone can do is slow her motor down because there is no stopping it.
“She’s a two-time MVP for a reason,” Reese said. “Obviously, I’m going to take some pieces from her game — being versatile with multiple moves around the basket.”
Whenever a team is hanging around, the Aces can, in an instant, show that their opponents are never as close as it appears.
This was the case against the Sky.
After the Sky regained a one-point lead midway through the third quarter, the Aces went into another gear. They went on a 35-16 run over the next 10 minutes to take an 18-point lead with six minutes to play.
They did it without a huge offensive output from Wilson, either.
After she scored 23 points in the first half, Wilson had six in the third quarter and two in the fourth. It was her 20th consecutive game scoring 20 or more points, the longest streak in WNBA history.
Aces guards Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young combined for 43 points. Together, Plum, Young and Wilson nearly outscored the entire Sky team.
Marina Mabrey led the Sky with 21 points, and Chennedy Carter added 20.