despite an extraordinary performance by Asus star J Wilson who scored 42 points the highest by any player in the WNBA this season Aces fell short losing 93 to 90 to the wings this loss has been a setback for the aces dropping them to a 18- 12 record and placing them fifth in the WNBA standings we failed to defend properly committed too many fouls didn't rebound effectively and our three-point shooting was abysmal lamented Aces coach Becky Hammond after the game it's a recipe for disaster the aces who only lost six games in the regular season and won during the playoffs last year on their way to a second consecutive WNBA title are struggling this season despite Wilson's MVP caliber performance Wilson who was averaging an unprecedented 27.1 points per game over 30 Games the highest in league history has been a standout yet the team has been unable to capitalize on her dominance the aces have been two and four since the WNBA resumed play after the Olympic break adding to their woes they had also lost their last game before the break notably three of these losses came against top tier teams New York and Minnesota Who currently occupy first and third place in the standings respectively however Tuesday's defeat to Dallas a team struggling with an 8 and22 record was particularly disheartening in their previous game on Sunday the AC's narrowly escaped defeat against the Chicago Sky needing a last second shot from Wilson to secure a win against a team with an 11 and 18 record Wilson's performance has been a roller coaster she missed a career-high 20 shots against the sky but bounced back to her usual efficient form against the wings shooting 16 of 22 from the field in contrast her teammates managed just 15 of 40 her 42 points in the game were the most ever scored by a WNBA player in a regulation game that ended in a loss Tuesday's game Mark Wilson's thirdd career game with 40 or more points a feat only matched by three other players in WNBA history Brianna Stewart Diana terasi and mayam Moore despite this coach Becky Hammond has been vocal about her concerns regarding the AC's defensive struggles a problem she identified before the season even began with only 10 games left in the regular season Hammond remains hopeful but critical our defense could certainly improve but it comes down to attention to detail Hammond said we lost our defensive discipline in the second half at some point players need to hold themselves accountable they need to step up and pick and roll situations box out opponents and support each other especially when big bodies are crashing the boards the aces were outplayed on the boards getting outrebounded 40 to 26 by the wings with Dallas Center tier maowen grabbing 17 rebounds the ace is currently ranked seventh in the WNBA in rebounding averaging 34.4 per game only slightly below last season's 34.8 average however this slight drop has been compounded by a decrease in offensive efficiency with Wilson being the exception we need to figure out how to get crucial stops and tight games Hammond at it this season we haven't been able to maintain leads and that's been frustrating defensively we're not strong enough to afford giving up 993 points our off offensive game hasn't been sharp the ball movement and shooting accuracy have been subpar in a league where every game counts the aces will need to quickly find solutions to their issues while the wings will look to continue their upward trajectory the WNBA season is heating up and as teams jostle for playoff positioning the race is on for a strong finish that's all for this podcast don't forget to like subscribe comment and share this video until next time have a great one