NEW YORK, United States — Guard Chelsea Gray
scored 20 points and handed out six assists on Sunday as the Las Vegas Aces
beat the Connecticut Sun 78–71 to capture the 2022 Women’s NBA title.
اضافة اعلان
The Aces claimed their first
WNBA title in franchise
history, beating the Sun three games to one in the best-of-five title series.
The victory was the first major professional sports
championship for a club based in Las Vegas — where the Aces set up shop in 2018
after the franchise was launched as the Utah Starzz in 1997 and moved to San
Antonio, Texas, in 2003.
It was also extra sweet, Gray said, after the Aces
fell in five games to the Phoenix Mercury in last season’s playoffs.
“We didn’t like that feeling we had last year,” said
Gray, who was named the WNBA Finals MVP.
“It was a tough moment but it built character. It
was setting something up for the following year.”
Becky Hammon, who played for the team in San
Antonio, became the first head coach in WNBA history to win a title in her
first season on the job.
The 45-year-old had served as an assistant to
legendary San Antonio Spurs coach
Gregg Popovich for eight NBA seasons before
Aces owner Mark Davis hired her last December to take the helm.
The Aces, led by league MVP forward A’ja Wilson,
tied for the league’s best regular-season record at 26–10 and were top seeds in
the playoffs.
Wilson chipped in 11 points and pulled down 14
rebounds in the decisive game on Sunday, which the Aces led by as many as 10
points before fending off a string of comeback bids by the Sun.
Aces reserve Riquna Williams added a season-high 17
points, draining a step-back three-point dagger over Sun guard Kelsey Plum in
the fourth quarter that had Connecticut fans heading for the exits.
“This is amazing,” said Wilson, who was also the
league’s Defensive Player of the Year this season. “I say all the time, I
wouldn’t be where I am today without my teammates. But winning a championship
is something that no one can ever take from you and once you got that down, you
are in the books forever.
“This moment right here, this year right here is
something I’m never going to forget.”
Hammon said her first WNBA title as either player or
coach was “a little surreal.”
“What I’m most proud of is we became a real team out
here, and a team that cares about each other and trusts each other,” she said.
It was more championship disappointment for the Sun.
Connecticut forward Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double for
the second straight game but the Sun, who were seeded third, remain in search
of a first WNBA title.
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