Jackie

Young

Young didn’t make her first shot until the second quarter, going 0-for-5 to start the game. She had a combined three looks in the second and third quarters, making a driving layup and scoring off a rebound putback. But when it was clutch time, and Young had a chance to win the game for the Aces, she struggled to convert late. Young missed two really good looks driving to the basket with 33 seconds and then 1 second left in regulation. Without A’ja Wilson in the game, however, Young did a superb job of getting on the glass and creating extra possessions for her teammates. Three of her seven boards were offensive as both she and Chelsea Gray represented the brunt of the Aces’ rebounding on Thursday night.

Young led the Aces in scoring on Tuesday as she was tasked with carrying the offensive load following A’ja Wilson’s wrist injury and premature exit. Along with her scoring duties, the former Most Improved Player functioned as one of the Aces’ key facilitators. She tied for a team-high in assists while making contributions on the defensive end in the form of blocked shots. Young already has a lot on her plate in terms of her role as a veteran and multiple-time all-star with the Aces. Even more could be asked of her depending on the severity of Wilson’s injury.

A large margin of victory limited Young to just 21 minutes on Sunday, although that was all she needed to amass several assists and finish as one of the team’s top scorers. The veteran guard’s double-digit scoring performance on efficient shooting was a relief for fantasy managers, as Young had most recently logged a 2-of-9 shooting, six-point performance against the Fever. She still hasn’t had a dominant fantasy performance in a while now, but could be in line for a big one on Tuesday when the Aces face the defending champion Liberty.

Young was one of several Aces players to struggle on the offensive end on Thursday. She nearly finished with a season-low in points, as the Aces only managed 54 total points as a team. Young’s been held to single-digit shot attempts in each of her last two games, and has made only 2-of-11 three-pointers over the last three appearances. All players not named A’ja Wilson (29 points) will need to move past Thursday’s game quickly and focus on bouncing back against the Sun on Sunday.

Loyd scored half of her points in the fourth quarter, including two field goals within the final five minutes of the game. Loyd put her head down and drove to the basket to get the Aces back within a point with just over four minutes remaining, and then less than a minute later she hit a transition three in the left corner pocket on a pitchout pass from Jackie Young to give the Aces a 75-74 lead with just over three minutes left. Loyd has scored in double figures now in eight straight games.

Young scored 60 percent of her total points in the fourth quarter which included two field goals at the rim coming off a cut and then a drive in addition to two trips to the foul line. Young, like A’ja Wilson, willed herself to the line and took advantage of how the Mercury’s defense was playing the Aces. Young also had the second-most assists on her team, finding three different teammates including Jewell Loyd, Aaliyah Nye and Tiffany Mitchell wide open from beyond the arc.

After a disappointing outing on the boards for Wilson against the Mystics on Thursday night, the 3x MVP responded and collected the most rebounds she has had this season on Sunday against the Mercury. She led the Aces in not only rebounds, but also in scoring and assists. Wilson took over in the third quarter, where she scored 10 points and made three field goals while getting to the line three times. She is increasingly getting better at making the extra pass, finding rookie Aaliyah Nye for two of her five threes while working in the two-person game alongside wing Jackie Young for two more assists.

Young had a fascinating performance on Thursday. She tallied 13 points, all of which came in the first quarter, where she made 6-of-8 field goals and appeared on her way to a big game. Yet, the former Most Improved Player took just four shots the rest of the way and didn’t score a single point after the opening quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Young logged 28 minutes and had a solid impact on the glass, as well as a notable impact as a playmaker. Still, her lack of scoring production and aggression after the first quarter made a very ordinary line feel noteworthy.

Young tallied her sixth game of at least 20 points this season, and needed just 26 minutes of gameplay to do so. The former Most Improved Player was efficient from the floor and had a bounceback game from beyond the arc after failing to register a make against Indiana. Young has been one of Las Vegas’ most consistent players throughout the team’s up-and-down season. Such consistency has led her to rank as one of the 15 best players in ESPN fantasy basketball leagues. The Aces will need her to continue playing at a high level for the team to sustain success.