LAS VEGAS — Last season, the Las Vegas Aces were crushed by a Game 5 semifinal playoff loss at home to the Phoenix Mercury in a year they really thought they could be WNBA champions.
Saturday, the Aces were the ones doing the crushing. And in record fashion. Las Vegas set a WNBA record — playoff or regular season — for most 3-pointers in a game with 23, in a 117-80 dismantling of a Phoenix team depleted by injuries and absences.
Aces coach Becky Hammon, in her first season in Las Vegas after eight years as an NBA assistant in San Antonio, moved her squad a step closer to the sought-after title, as the Aces became the first team to advance to the 2022 WNBA semifinals with a 2-0 sweep of the Mercury.
The Aces' offense was unstoppable Saturday, setting the tone by making their first 10 shots from the field, a playoff record.