Aces Bench Three Stars Against Liberty

Three stars sat out against Liberty

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon made the bold call to bench A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young for Sunday's matchup with the New York Liberty, citing player welfare after a gruelling travel stretch.

Brutal back-to-back schedule

The Aces had lost to Minnesota the day before and didn't land in New York until late, having made the lengthy trip from Minneapolis with fewer than 24 hours between tip-offs. Hammon was blunt about the situation, insisting she would not gamble with her players' health simply to field her strongest line-up under those conditions.

Early tip-off added to the strain

Adding to the difficulty, the Liberty game was moved to an early afternoon start to make way for ABC's coverage of the Little League Softball World Series championship game - giving the Aces even less recovery time than a standard schedule would allow.

Liberty still on guard

Even without three of their biggest names on the court, the Aces weren't being taken lightly. Liberty coach Chris DeMarco acknowledged the threat Las Vegas still posed and prepared his squad for a competitive contest regardless of the absences.