Story by Alan Snel and Cassandra Cousineau Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
As a country struggles with the turmoil of the nation’s highest court overturning Roe v Wade, two WNBA teams took the court at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena Saturday.
The host team was the Las Vegas Aces. A day before at practice, Aces players wore T-shirts saying, “Bans off our bodies” and “Our bodies Our futures Our abortions”
The Aces’ opponent is the Mystics of Washington, the country’s capital where the U.S. Supreme Court stirred the nation into an emotional hurricane by ruling in a 6-3 vote that said the constitutional right to an abortion does not exist.
The 12-team WNBA enters the political arena more than other sports league in this country. WNBA players were vocal about racial injustice problems in the U.S. after the George Floyd killing in Minnesota and even worked to help get Raphael Warnock elected as Georgia’s first-ever Black U.S. senator over former Atlanta franchise owner Kelly Loeffler.
The high court’s abortion rights ruling came a week after a Title IX event at Allegiant Stadium. There was also a Title IX panel discussion called, “The Path Ahead,” before today’s Mystics-Aces game.
The panel included the Aces team president, Nikki Fargas, who discussed how the spending gap between men’s and women’s sports resources is closing “but not fast enough.”
Women, we do a damn good job when we’re given a chance . . . We have to have an equal playing field — Aces team president Nikki Fargas
The Aces were coming off a disappointing nine-point loss to Chicago after Las Vegas ran out to a 41-18 lead after one quarter Tuesday.
Saturday, the Aces forced overtime against the Mystics when Jackie Young hit a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The score was 80-80 after regulation play.
But the Aces dropped their second straight game with a 86-83 loss to Washington. Chelsea Gray made only 5 of 17 shots, while A’ja Wilson was only 6 of 16.
The Aces scored only three points in overtime before Wilson hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final score.
Young led the Aces scoring with 20 points, while Kelsey Plum had 17. Wilson scored 14 and Gray had 12. The Aces made 31 of their 81 shots, or 38 percent. It was the first time this season that the Aces lost two straight.
Las Vegas’s record fell to 13-4, while Washington improved to 12-9.
LVSportsBiz.com asked Davis about the Aces’ lack of a bench.
Davis responded, “That’s the general manager and coach. I just sign the checks.”
Three Aces starters are also WNBA All-Star Game starters: