Aces coach Bill Laimbeer said the team is still learning how to win.

WNBA Aces Lose Sloppy Game To Connecticut Sun, 80-74, As Attendance Dropped To 2,747

Aces fans and the team mascot BUCKET$ before the game Sunday.

By Alan Snel

LVSportsBiz.com

 

Don’t reserve the Strip for an WNBA championship parade quite yet.

 

The much heralded Las Vegas Aces, who added premier center Liz Cambage to their roster before the WNBA season, lost their second straight game Sunday after committing 21 turnovers in a sloppy 80-74 loss to the Connecticut Sun.

Aces coach Bill Laimbeer is not pleased with his team’s play.

 

Aces coach Bill Laimbeer, not one to sugarcoat ugly losses, called his team “mentally weak” and “not knowing how to win.”

 

“Something has to change,” Laimbeer told sports reporters after the game at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Laimbeer’s postgame statement says it all.

Attendance also took a big dive after the Aces’ season-opening win over the Los Angeles Sparks a week ago. The Aces announced a crowd of more than 7,000 fans — 7,249 — last week, but attendance dropped to 2,747 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Sunday.

 

That was to be expected as the home-opener typically attracts a big crowd.

 

For the second game in a row, the Aces’ starting line-up came out flat. When Kayla McBride was on the court, the Aces were outscored by 21 points. With starting point guard Kelsey Plum on the court, the Aces were outscored by 15 points. Neither Plum nor starting guard Jackie Young, the team’s number one pick and the WNBA overall number one selection, scored a single point. Two nights ago, the Aces lost to Phoenix by two points.

 

The Aces will not be home at Mandalay Bay Events Center until June 14 when Las Vegas hosts New York.

 

*

 

Follow LVSportsBiz.com on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

 

Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.