Aces’ Jackie Young focusing on defense ahead of Game 3

Through two rounds of the WNBA playoffs, Aces All-Star wing Jackie Young has faced a variety of defensive assignments.

In the first round, she drew Diamond DeShields, the athletic wing who’d emerged as the No. 1 scoring option for a depleted Phoenix Mercury team.

Young was challenged again during the Aces’ semifinal series against the Seattle Storm, tasked with defending All-Star Jewell Loyd, one of the league’s premier sharpshooters.

That decision was consistent with Aces coach Becky Hammon’s approach against scoring wings all season.

“Put Jackie Young on her and give her support,” Hammon said after Young helped limit Loyd to one point in 30 minutes during a regular-season game Aug. 7.

Young’s defense has taken another step in the WNBA Finals while facing perhaps her most difficult opponent. She’s been the primary defender on Connecticut Sun wing DeWanna Bonner, one of the league’s most consistent scorers and playoff performers of the past half decade.

Game 3 of the WNBA Finals is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Aces lead the series 2-0 and have a chance to win their first title in franchise history.

Unlike the athletic DeShields or the sharpshooting Loyd, Bonner’s biggest weapon is height. Standing 6-foot-4-inches, she towers over Young, who is listed at 6-feet.

Bonner also has a solid mid-range jumper and is an improved 3-point shooter. Those tools made her a four-time All-Star, a two-time champion and a matchup nightmare across her 13-year career.

“She can score at all three levels,” Young said. “She has a lot of counters.”

Young and the Aces’ defense has done more than limit the 35-year-old Bonner’s impact. In two WNBA Finals games, she’s been a non-factor.

“You can’t take away everything,” Aces forward Dearica Hamby said. “We make their guards struggle. Their bigs did what they do, but we took away their outside game.”

Bonner shot just 1 of 9 from the field in Game 1 for 3 points in 30 minutes. She had a similar performance in Game 2, scoring two points in 32 minutes, again on 1 of 9 shooting. She’s made just 11.1 percent of her attempts from the field and 12.5 percent from 3 in the WNBA Finals.

Hamby and center Kiah Stokes both praised Young’s ability to neutralize Bonner despite the height difference. “She’s been doing great,” Stokes said. “It’s a tough job, but I think she’s handling it very well.”

During the regular season, Bonner averaged 13.5 points per game on 43.9 percent shooting. She scored 21 in the Sun’s close-out Game 3 win against the Dallas Wings in the first round and had 15 points or more during Connecticut’s final three games against the Chicago Sky in the semifinals.

Young credits her teammates for helping her cover Bonner. Hamby mentioned an adjustment to the Aces’ pick-n-roll coverage which helped them curb the Connecticut wing’s production. Young also tries to deny Bonner the ball and uses her strength to force the Sun veteran off her spots.

“I take pride in the defense and getting stops,” Young said.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.