Rookie and No. 1 overall pick A’ja Wilson had a team-high 20 points and seven rebounds in her preseason debut for the Aces on Sunday night.
Sam Gordon
Reporter
Email: sgordon@reviewjournal.com
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Sam Gordon was born and raised in Minneapolis and is back for his second stint with the Review-Journal. He’s covered the NFL, NBA, the Big Ten, the Mountain West and prep sports for various publications during his professional tenure. Gordon, a University of Minnesota graduate, is a basketball junkie who coached high school basketball for three seasons.
Rookie forward A’ja Wilson had 20 points and seven rebounds, and the Aces coasted to a 98-63 victory over the Chinese National Team at Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday night.
Nia Coffey is primed for a bigger role after struggling last year in San Antonio, where she averaged 1.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and shot 27.1 percent from the field.
Basic junior Raquel Chavez was recruited by the school’s coaches to run cross country and track and field as a freshman after running a mile in 6 minutes, 30 seconds during gym class.
Lawrence, a 5-foot-8-inch who starred at tiny Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, is competing for a roster spot with the Aces, who acquired her contractual rights from the Minnesota Lynx on draft day last month.
Aces forwards Cierra Burdick and Jaime Nared played the 2014-15 season together at Tennessee, and developed a close friendship they have since maintained.
Rancho runners Gizelle Reid, Teleda Williams, Jordan Davis and Amir’a Edmond form one of the fastest quartets in the country, and have spent the spring establishing state records at track meets near and far.
Morgan William, who snapped Connecticut’s 111-game winning streak with a buzzer-beating shot in 2017, is working to earn a roster spot on the WNBA’s Aces.
Centennial freshman point guard Taylor Bigby is blossoming into one of the top freshmen on the West Coast and already has secured scholarship offers from Colorado and Utah of the Pac-12.
Sequoia Holmes, who graduated from Mojave High and starred at UNLV from 2004 to 2008, is the founder, director and coach of Sequoia Select — a grassroots travel basketball program for girls in Las Vegas.
The Aces, who will practice at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion until they construct a practice facility, renovated the locker rooms and training rooms for the Lady Rebels.
The Aces began practicing Sunday at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion, and Bill Laimbeer, as the team’s head coach and president of basketball operations, opted to emphasize defense and conditioning during their first set of two-a-days.
Former UNLV guard Brooke Johnson, who averaged 16.1 points as a senior in 2017-18, will be with the Aces for training camp, which begins Sunday.
Allie Fox executed a successful squeeze bunt in the eighth inning to lift the Falcons to a 2-1 home softball win over the Rams in a key late-season Sunrise League matchup.
Bishop Gorman’s senior sprinters are setting school records and helping the Gaels contend in Class 4A.