For the second consecutive season the have gotten off to a slow start.
The team snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday with a victory over Indiana. Las Vegas sits at 6-7, a rare time they are under .500 since the team came to the Nevada city in 2018. The was one of their best efforts of the season. (It also was ESPN鈥檚 third most-watched WNBA regular-season game, averaging 1.7 million viewers.)
Coach Becky Hammon is hoping for more consistency moving forward.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to build trust when you鈥檙e not consistent. Every day. You got to show up. You got to be who you are and be the best version of yourself,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we haven鈥檛 got that yet. We鈥檝e got it in pieces, which makes me optimistic. And then we have, you know, where we fall to pieces, which enrages me. So, you know, we have to find a way to show up and put a 40-minute game together.鈥�
The Aces look to string some wins together now with Connecticut and Washington coming to Las Vegas for back-to-back games this week. The team then goes on a five-game road trip that will go a long way to determining where they are heading into the All-Star break.
Hammon is hoping to get Jewell Loyd going on offense. She's averaging just 11.4 points this season 鈥� her lowest total since her rookie year in 2015.
Clark's shooting woes
Clark isn't worried about her recent shooting slump over the past two games when she's gone 1-for-17 from behind the 3-point arc. She's a career 35% 3-point shooter, with many of her shots coming from way behind the 3-point line.
鈥淚 mean, there鈥檚 going to be stretches that are really good and stretches that aren鈥檛 as good,鈥� she said. 鈥淥bviously it鈥檚 frustrating. You want them to go in and even tonight there were a few that felt really good off my hand that just didn't go down.鈥�
Clark hasn't lost faith in her shooting.
鈥淭he challenge for myself going forward is just continue to pour into every other aspect of the game and I can continue to have an impact in those other areas.鈥�
Early voting returns
Clark and Napheesa Collier through Friday. Three of Clark's Fever teammates are also in the top 10 of the voting that will close Saturday. There have been a huge number of votes cast so far which has impressed Clark.
鈥淚t seems like it鈥檚 certainly going to set some sort of record for the amount of votes cast compared to last year, if I鈥檓 not mistaken. I feel like we鈥檙e on track for that, which just shows how much engagement we鈥檙e driving across the league for all different sorts of players and teams," she said.
鈥淎nd, you know, that鈥檚 exactly what the league needs, is people are excited about that type of stuff and wanting to be involved, feeling like their vote really counts, and feeling like they can make an impact on All-Star Games. So, it鈥檚 really exciting to see, and hopefully as we continue to grow here year after year after year.鈥�
Power poll rankings
Minnesota leads the way as the No. 1 team in the power poll with Phoenix moving up to second after beating New York last week. The Liberty are third with Seattle fourth. Atlanta, Golden State and Las Vegas are the next three. Indiana is eighth. Washington, Los Angeles and Dallas follow the Fever. Chicago and Connecticut round out the poll.
Player of the week
Nneka Ogwumike of Seattle earned Player of the Week honors for the first time this season. The Storm forward averaged 25.7 points, eight rebounds and 2.3 steals to help the team win all three of its games last week.
Game of the week
Chicago at Los Angeles, Sunday. The Sparks will retire former star Candace Parker's jersey at the game. She will be the third player to have that honor for Los Angeles.
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AP WNBA:
Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press
