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Las Vegas Aces power forward A’ja Wilson, who has missed the last three games with a head injury, has been listed as a starter for the game Friday night against the Seattle Storm.
The three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player has been out of the lineup since suffering the injury on June 11 in the third quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Sparks.
“I am expecting big things,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said before the game. “I hope she has a Paige Bueckers type of recovery.”
Hammon also said the team was going to have to come out hot against Seattle as the Storm are capable of blowing the Aces out of the building if they do not have their minds right.
“We’re going to get smacked if we do not come out and play right,” Hammon said. “We have got to make sure we don’t go through long scoring droughts.”
Hammon also addressed the fact her team needs better hustle and they have to play harder.
“We are better than 5-6, but playing hard is a sklll set and we don’t have it yet for 40 minutes,” Hammon said. “You have to be trustworthy, work hard on defense and get the ball into transition.”
The Aces defeated the Storm the last time the two teams met. Hammon knows Seattle and coach Nicole Quinn will be ready to play and look to avenge their last loss.
“They are going to have their Spidey sense up,” Hammon said.
Hammon did say she was more concerned with how her team was going to react after the latest loss to Minnesota and there was a lot which needed to be fixed in a hurry.
“We have been such a hot mess ourselves,” Hammon said. “I am trying to fix us right now. We have to worry about how we make ourselves better. Nine times out of 10 it has nothing to do with the opponent.”
Hammon said the Aces were working on repetition and doing the same things over again until they became second nature.
“We have to repeat ourselves and I have to deliver a consistent message,” Hammon said. “When we are organized and we are locked in, we are a much more capable team.”
