In their quest to form a dynasty of their own in the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces faced a reality check on Monday. The A’ja Wilson-led team was thrashed on the night by the Dallas Wings, suffering their second blowout of the season. And even before the final buzzer sounded, head coach Becky Hammon had already seen enough from her team.

During one of the timeouts in the game, Hammon was caught literally lashing out at her players. The weight of her team’s disappointing performance clearly got to her to the point that she even threw her clipboard near the bench where players like Wilson were sitting.

An X user, @strictlyazzi, shared a glimpse of this moment, which has already got more than 7K views in a short span of time.

Becky Hammon is naturally an aggressive and fierce coach. She doesn’t mince her words while addressing her players’ mistakes or even pinpointing officiating errors during the game. And her behavior on Monday was just another reminder of that aggression.

And to be honest, Hammon’s frustration was quite appropriate from the context of the game. A 30-point blowout defeat (96-66) is something that you wouldn’t expect from the Las Vegas Aces on any given day. It sounds even more surprising, given the fact that the Aces are among the top five teams in points per game.

The Aces are second in the league with an average of 90.2 points per game. But on Monday, the Aces were far from their dominant selves. They fumbled equally on both ends of the court. Hammon’s team struggled on offense, with just A’ja Wilson (18) and Jewell Lloyd (21) recording double figures.

They scored just five times from deep in the game while shooting 40% from the field. Chelsea Gray, one of the greatest point guards in WNBA history, was held scoreless in 29 minutes on the floor. Jackie Young, meanwhile, finished with just six points.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Wings were on a rampage in the game. The Aces allowed Dallas to score 49% from the field and make 10 3-pointers. Arike Ogunwbowale dropped a masterclass with 22 points and 7 assists. Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers, and Jessica Shepard also scored in double figures in the game.

The turnovers crippled the Aces’ defense further in the game. Notably, Las Vegas gave away 14 turnovers, which led to 18 Dallas points on the night. Speaking in the post-game presser, Becky Hammon didn’t hesitate to vent her frustration over her team’s poor defensive performance.

“Pretty much everywhere in the paint, pick-and-roll, at the three-point line, mid-range. We didn’t defend anything tonight,” Hammon said when asked about what went wrong on the team’s defensive side of things.

This marked a second defeat of the season for the Las Vegas Aces against the Dallas Wings. The Wings are now 2-0 against the Aces this season. And for all money, the way forward for A’ja Wilson and the team isn’t going to be easy either.

A’ja Wilson Makes Her Feelings Known on Moving On From This Tough Defeat

Moving on from a blowout defeat can never be easy for any team. But it’s important to understand that a single defeat cannot determine a season. The Las Vegas Aces are still one of the best teams in the country. And to be honest, they also have the best player in the league in A’ja Wilson, leading them.

At the moment, it’s just about getting their groove back in the season, and Wilson has the perfect roadmap to attain it going forward.

“I mean, for myself, I give myself 24 hours, win or lose, to really digest and figure out what can I do better,” Wilson said as per the Las Vegas Aces’ YouTube channel. “But then after that, you’ve got to lock in. We got to lock into Phoenix and know the same thing, like if our defenses don’t change, if we don’t get better on the defensive end, the L’s are just going to start racking up.”

While a blowout defeat wasn’t already enough, the Las Vegas Aces face the Phoenix Mercury next. Notably, it was Phoenix who gave the Aces their first blowout defeat in the season opener. The game can be challenging on paper, with Phoenix boasting players Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper.

But as a matter of fact, the Mercury haven’t been able to materialize their strength on the court. They are 4-11 in the season and are coming into the game on a three-game losing streak. Thus, the Phoenix Mercury game can be a perfect opportunity for the Aces to return to winning ways.

ESPN’s projections also give the Aces the edge heading into the matchup. As per them, the Aces have 57.2% chances of winning the game. The tip-off is on June 17 at the Mortgage Matchup Center.