Hammon Sits 3 Aces Stars in 111-71 Loss as WNBA Back-to-Back Draws Protest

Q: How did a 1,200-mile overnight flight and a youth softball tournament force a championship team to surrender a nationally televised game?

A punishing piece of scheduling left Becky Hammon deciding that protecting her stars mattered more than preserving a marquee TV matchup. The Aces had played in Minnesota on Saturday, then traveled nearly 1,200 miles to New York and did not reach their hotel until about 10 p.m. Saturday night. Less than 24 hours after the previous game, they were back on the floor for a 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday tipoff against the Liberty. Because the trip crossed time zones, the turnaround was effectively even tighter, with players needing an early wake-up and arriving at the arena fewer than 12 hours after getting to the hotel. Hammon said that combination of a road back-to-back, overnight travel, accumulated mileage from a five-game trip, and limited recovery time made it too risky to play A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray. Wilson had also been managing a right ankle-leg issue earlier in the season, adding to the caution. Hammon said she would “err on the side of health and safety” and criticized the WNBA for not building a more manageable calendar. The youth softball tournament mattered because ABC set the game in an early national-TV window before its Little League Softball World Series championship coverage. That broadcast placement helped create the compressed turnaround. In effect, a television-driven schedule, not competitive preference, pushed a championship contender to punt a showcase game. Without its top three stars, Las Vegas was routed 111-71.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 10

Three usual Las Vegas starters — A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young — never left the bench in Sunday’s 111-71 ABC loss to New York, turning the game into a public scheduling protest.
Hammon said player health came first after all three logged 33 to 36 minutes in Saturday’s 98-87 road loss at Minnesota, then had to return for a 12:30 p.m. ET tip in Brooklyn.
The turnaround technically fit league rules: the new CBA calls for good-faith efforts to provide at least 20 hours between back-to-backs, and WNBA guidelines set a 22-hour minimum with travel of no more than one time zone.
Jonquel Jones said the Liberty wanted the full matchup but understood the decision, underscoring tension between marquee TV games and workload management.
That strain could intensify as the WNBA expands to a 50-game schedule next season, up six from 2026.