SKY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Forward Cheyenne Parker was the leading rebounder for the Sky with 13 boards. Parker also started the second half and played a season high 30:03 minutes.
• The Sky’s offensive boards added to their 17 second chance points. The Sky had a total of 12 offensive rebounds compared to two by the Aces.
• In her second game with the Sky this season, Courtney Vandersloot dished out a season-high 11 assists.
• Diamond DeShields scored a season high 25 points, and was the Sky player of the game. Cheyenne Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, and Jamierra Faulkner also scored in double digits for the Sky.

ACES HIGHLIGHTS:

• Guard Jaime Nared and forward A’ja Wilson were the leading scorers for the Aces, scoring 24 points and 22 points, respectively. Along with Nared and Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Kayla McBride also scored in double digits for the Aces.
• Starting Forward Nia Coffey got hurt in the second quarter, and did not play in the second half.
• The Aces bench outscored the Sky bench 42-34.
• The Aces shot 51.4 percent from the field compared to 38.9 percent by the Sky.

SKY HEAD COACH AND GENERAL MANAGER AMBER STOCKS

(On the game)
“Good game. It was a very offensive minded game with 95 points for us and 90 for the opponent. We really ducked down and played together. We were able to focus on minimizing our turnovers
and rebounding the basketball. We did an outstanding job in those two areas. And then on top of that, just the way that this team played together, they were passionate for each other. There was one moment during a time out that [Vandersloot] had a question for me, and I couldn’t hear her because everybody was talking to each other. They were giving advice. So, one player who wasn’t in was grabbing another player who was in and they were all sharing things they were seeing on the court, and everyone was actively involved in the time out, and in the coaching and in the instruction, and telling people what to look for. It was a beautiful thing to see everybody working together and such chemistry.”

(On the difference between this game and the game on Friday (6/1))
Take care of the basketball. Minimize turnovers, a heavy emphasis on getting the safe outlet, running through the play, getting secondary and tertiary action within our offense, and taking the
high percentage shot.

(On resilience and being able to come back from a 15-point deficit)
I would say what really manifested itself today, what you saw on the court, was a byproduct of what the players have been doing in practice. For Cheyenne Parker to come in, and not just because she’s sitting here, 30 minutes. She’s really worked on her conditioning, and she’s put in a lot of extra time without me, just in the gym with the assistants or with Ann Crosby, our strength and conditioning coach. She’s put in the time to work on her conditioning, and then you see her out on the court, so I learn about the productivity of what they’re doing to prepare themselves for the moment. It’s not the moment. It’s the preparation you put in before the moment that allows you to seize the opportunity of the moment.

(On getting to the free throw line and getting rebounds)
Last season we were last in the league in free throw attempts, and we made a very, very strong focus on increasing that. We knew coming into this season we needed to increase our free throw attempts and our rebounding. And Diamond will tell you, she and I talked and one thing I knew that we needed was Diamond on our team to help us get to the free throw line. We knew we needed Gabby Williams on our team to help us secure rebounds. And [DeShields] had 14 free throw attempts today, and [Gabby Williams] had 10 rebounds, so they’re fulfilling their calling cards so to speak, and being productive in the areas that are going to help us win.

DIAMOND DESHIELDS (F)

(On her mindset in the second half)
Just to keep attacking. I don’t think I ever had teammates that just keep telling me, ‘keep going, keep going.’ They really made me feel confident going into the fourth. I thank them because if they weren’t telling me that I probably wouldn’t have kept being as aggressive as I was.

CHEYENNE PARKER (F)

(On sensing the momentum changing in their favor)
Ending the second quarter, I felt like we had good momentum going into the locker room, and we allowed the to carry over starting the third quarter, and just try to stay consistent. Defensively getting stops, pressuring the ball; I think that’s when the turning point came.

ACES HEAD COACH BILL LAMBEER

(On keys to the loss)
I thought we has control of the game early on an we just kind of relaxed too much. They picked up the pace and we weren’t able to recover our intensity. They just kept attacking the rim and we kept fouling.

(On A’ja Wilson’s foul troubles)
She is going to get in foul trouble every now and the. I think it bothered her a little bit, but overall, teammates have to step up. Too many fouls and offensive rebounds for them and that’s a recipe for disaster.

(On the effect of Nia Coffey going down)
She’s one of our more intense players, and [losing her] hurts and drives our intensity down. She’s one of our best attackers of the basket, but injuries happen.

(On how the team responded to tough officiating)
I think it was our own fault because we fouled too much. We let them take us off the dribble, our help defense wasn’t there and they got to the free throw line.

(On the team’s rebounding)
We didn’t rebound very well today at all. We only had two offensive rebounds to their 12, and that’s not good enough. It puts you in a hole. I thought they worked hard to get the rebounds and we didn’t.

(On expectations for Kelsey Plum for the season)
I don’t quite know yet. She’s too new to our team. I know she can shoot [3-pointers]. She needs to learn our offense and how to run a team. Overall, she had a good game today.

A’JA WILSON (F)

(On sitting due to foul trouble)
It’s very frustrating sitting. I don’t think a competitor likes to sit, but it’s tough. I think the biggest lesson I learned this game was foul trouble. I can’t afford to be in foul trouble for my team, it’s not good. It’s very selfish of me to go out like that. That’s done, I learned that. That’s the beauty of losses, you learn from them. I have to move my feet and also know my teammates can trust me to be a defensive presence.

(On her leadership skills translating to the WNBA)
I think they’re slowly coming around. It’s kind of tough, I still have a rookie mind. This is my first year going at this, so I’m trying to be a sponge instead of a rock. I’m trying to take it all in, but yet still lead and coach [Lambeer] does a great job of helping me take that leadership role. My energy is huge. I can’t afford to feel down, than the team will. That goes back to me being in foul trouble. My biggest thing as a leader is listening to what coach says and translating it as fast as possible.

(On going against former teammate Alaina Coates)
It’s good. It’s kind of different playing against each other, but it kind of takes it back to the good old days of playing against each other in practice.

(On the scouting report for her)
Every game and every practice I try to see how I can expand my game. People are going to know what I like to do like the back of their hands. I think coming into the league, [Lambeer] said you always have to have a [go-to move] you can count on. Slowly and surely, I’m starting to shoot a lot more jumpers. People are going to play me for the drive, so I want them to understand that can do both.

(On improvements from training camp to present)
I would have to say just trusting myself. In training camp, I came in being a rookie and i didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Now as it’s gone on, I see that I can still produce the way I used to in college. I can still take in the defense and be a cheerleader for my teammates.

(On Mia Coffey going down)
It’s a big part of us. Mia gives us a lot. She gives us that burst of energy. You can’t guard her, you don’t know how to guard her [because] she can jump out of the gym. It was tough, but coach said man down man up, and we just have to take that and use it as energy and embrace it.