Hammon erupts after Aces’ embarrassing 81-54 loss to shorthanded Fever
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon didn’t hold back after watching her team suffer one of the worst defeats in franchise history, falling 81-54 to the Indiana Fever on Thursday night in Indianapolis.
The loss, which dropped the Aces to 8-9 on the season, came against a Fever team playing without star rookie Caitlin Clark for the fourth consecutive game due to a groin injury. Despite missing their leading playmaker, Indiana dominated from start to finish, breaking a 16-game losing streak against Las Vegas that dated back to 2019.
A night to forget
The numbers tell a brutal story. Las Vegas shot an abysmal 26.2% from the field and managed just 18.8% from three-point range. MVP A’ja Wilson carried the entire offensive load with 29 points, while the rest of the team combined for just 25 points. Jackie Young, the team’s second-leading scorer on the night, managed only six points.
“We got our ass kicked,” Hammon said bluntly in her postgame press conference. “That’s a complete lack of professionalism to come here with that effort. They played better yesterday in practice by a lot.”
The two-time championship coach, who has led the Aces since 2022, called it the worst offensive performance she’s witnessed during her tenure in Las Vegas. The team’s other four starters combined to shoot 2-of-24 from the field, leaving Wilson to shoulder an impossible burden.
Defense disappears
While the offensive struggles were glaring, Hammon reserved her harshest criticism for the team’s defensive effort. The Fever scored 38 points in the paint and consistently found easy paths to the basket throughout the game.
“They were in the paint getting downhill layups all night,” Hammon explained. “I thought they were grabbing and holding us, so it’s a rugby match. My team doesn’t want to play rugby, so we get our ass kicked. There has to be some fight back if they’re going to allow that kind of physicality.”
Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 25 points, while Aliyah Boston added 20 points in the Commissioner’s Cup champions’ dominant performance. The Fever shot 49.2% from the field and outrebounded Las Vegas by 11, controlling every aspect of the game.
Searching for answers
The loss represents the Aces’ lowest-scoring output since Hammon took over as head coach. It’s also their second 27-point defeat of the season, following a similar blowout loss to the Golden State Valkyries on June 7.
“Maybe we’ve got to shake something up, shake up the starting lineup,” Hammon suggested when asked about potential solutions. “It’s really hard to know as a coach what team you’re getting on a given night.”
The inconsistency has been a season-long issue for a team that entered 2025 with championship aspirations. Six of their nine losses have come by double digits, a stark contrast to the dominance they displayed while winning back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.
Road ahead
The Aces face a challenging stretch with upcoming games against the Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty, and Washington Mystics on their East Coast road trip. They won’t return to Las Vegas until July 12, when they’ll host the Golden State Valkyries at Michelob Ultra Arena.
For a franchise that has set the standard for excellence in recent years, Thursday’s performance served as a wake-up call. Whether Hammon’s team can respond and salvage their season remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – performances like this won’t cut it for a team with championship DNA.
“You’ve got to come with your engine started,” Hammon concluded. “At some point, you have to say that’s a little more us, because it’s happened against multiple opponents.”
Image Source: https://www.si.com/wnba/becky-hammon-rips-aces-loss-fever
Category: Sports
Subcategory: Locam Teams
Date: 07/04/2025
