Aces outmuscle Japan en route to impressive 94-78 victory in exhibition

“They’re probably not as big as other W teams, which made them very difficult to kind of guard and contain on the perimeter, but makes it a little bit more manageable when they're at the rim,” said Aces head coach Becky Hammon about her team’s physicality.

“We just have a lot of size and length at the end of day. We always like our rim protection, whether that's [NaLyssa Smith] there. [Brianna Turner] had a couple blocks tonight, so just being really disciplined, knowing when to jump, because I don't really teach jumping on closeouts and all that stuff's on the perimeter. You know, we got to jump second at the rim. That's a different kind of contest. And I think, you know, a couple of our players just have really good timing in that way.”

“I just think my athleticism, being able to be explosive and just see the ball when it comes off the rim, but then also just watching and seeing what the team needed,” said guard Chennedy Carter, who contributed to the physical style of play with five rebounds and a block of her own. “I seen that they weren’t boxing out. So I've seen if I came in, I could crash just doing the little things that I see when I come in the game.”

Staying physical with Japan allowed the Aces to start pulling away in the second half, turning a narrow seven-point lead at the end of the first half into leading by double digits for more of the second.

Eventually, the scoring depth of the Aces finally found its game and sparked an equally impressive effort on offense. Young and Gray were strong offensively with 17 and 16 points, respectively, but it was ultimately Carter who paced the Aces in her first game on a WNBA team since 2024 with 18 points. Kierstan Bell would record 14 points, Jewell Loyd would notch 13 despite missing some of the second quarter after a center-court collision, and Smith would secure a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

“She’s fast as hell,” said Gray about Carter. “It’s a luxury, dynamic guard, but people see the explosiveness that she's able to do offensively, defensively, she can guard and, like, pick up…I'm excited to have her.”

“I mean, we have Olympians on our team. We have some of the greatest, greatest players and scorers in the world. So it's just being able to play with them, it’s honestly an honor,” said Carter about how she is fitting into her new team.

“I look up to them. They have embraced me, and they've made me feel comfortable, and they're helping me grow and elevate and I trust that they'll help me take my game to the next level, and I'm going to help them grow as well. So I'm really happy here.”

The trio of Carter, Turner and Stephanie Talbot would all make positive impressions in their first time representing the Aces, with Talbot starting the game in place of Wilson and leading the frontcourt with over 22 minutes played.

“I think she's just been, just throughout her history in this league, a player that I actually have tried to get her multiple times. This time she actually said yes to me,” said Hammon about Talbot.

“She’s been just a really solid basketball player, and I think she's a nice balancing piece for some of the other weapons that we have out there. She's a player that doesn't need the ball…to impact the game. And so those, those pieces that fit with our other big pieces are really important. I expect big things from her. She's a very smart basketball player, and I like that.”

While Carter served as an offensive catalyst who can provide microwave offense off the bench, Talbot and Turner served as punishing defensive components of the frontcourt rotation. The new forwards provided 11 combined rebounds for the Aces, including three offensive boards.

It was not necessarily a perfect game for the Aces, with 12 turnovers and allowing 41% from three-point range in the first half; Mai Yamamoto was particularly effective, putting up over half of her three-point shots with a game-high 24 points.

However, the Aces will have another preseason game to smooth out any imperfections when they face the Dallas Wings in Austin on May 3.

“We’re going to use it as a way to get better,” said Hammon.

“We'll probably be a little bit more into a realistic lineup, because we're gonna have games right around the corner after that. But right now, we're still just moving pieces, figuring out pieces, what works, what combinations work best. So I'm very open minded.”