LAS VEGAS — Prior to the Las Vegas Aces re-signing reserve forward Dearica Hamby to a three-year contract, she sat with coach and president of basketball operations Bill Laimbeer for a heart-to-heart. Sunday night the fifth-year pro came off the bench to score 12 points and grab 14 rebounds and help the Aces to an 83-70 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in the season opener for both teams. The Sparks, who were without two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker, were led by Maria Vadeeva, who had 24 points and five rebounds. The Sparks didn’t get their first field goal until the 5:16 mark, as Las Vegas opened the second stanza with a 9-0 run. “D is gonna have a breakout year, she’s gonna be that All Star, Sixth Woman of the Year,” McBride said.

Source: National Post May 27, 2019 02:15 UTC