“Awful Tonight, Absolutely Horrible“: Coach Nate Tibbetts and Sophie Cunningham Slam Referees as A’ja Wilson Breaks Another WNBA Record

The reigning Finals MVP, A’ja Wilson has been on a tear this season. The 27-year-old, who has arguably completed basketball, seems to have gotten better somehow. Recording another dominant stat line, she has finally put an end to the Las Vegas Aces’ losing streak. However, that came at the expense of an incensed Phoenix Mercury team, who were appalled by the efforts of the officiating crew last night. In fact, Nate Tibbetts and Sophie Cunningham both expressed their disappointment with the referees.

In the post-game press conference, Mercury’s guard Sophie Cunningham said, “I think we came out really well in the first quarter. Defensively, on top of it. Moved the ball offensively, shots were going in for us. Overall, second half was a tough stretch. There’s a lot of things we could’ve controlled. Refs were awful tonight, absolutely horrible. You can’t miss that last call with Kah.”

The first-year head coach Nate Tibbetts too called out the referees. He said, “I don’t know what to say about the officiating. I’m at a loss for words.” He later added, “They made 10-for-10 threes. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that. Give them credit. I mean listen, this our fourth game together. This is the back-to-back champs. I don’t think we’re very far away. I love where we’re headed.”

In last night’s game, the visiting Aces broke their 3-game losing skid and took home a 103-99 victory. However, the primary concern for the hosts was the officiating. Kahleah Copper took 6 personal fouls for the night, the last one coming against A’ja Wilson with just 25 seconds remaining in the game. Surprisingly, in just the previous possession, Jackie Young of the Aces gave a shoulder check to Copper, which the referees did not call. The coaching staff and the bench were furious with the missed call.

Sophie Cunningham too picked up a technical foul in the third quarter. Overall, Phoenix had 26 fouls with 15 free throw attempts. Contrastingly, the Aces only fetched 16 fouls with 25 free throw attempts. Nonetheless, A’ja Wilson continues to break records everytime she steps onto the court.

A’ja Wilson collects more gold

The Las Vegas Aces lost a spot in the Commissioner’s Cup Final despite the win. However, the reigning Finals MVP continues to shine. After her 32-point outing vs Phoenix, she surpassed Tina Charles for most 25+ point games consecutively. Inking her name in the WNBA history, she also tied Tina Thompson for the 15th spot in the all-time blocks list. After last night’s win, she has blocked 372 shots so far.

Adding more pages to her story, A’ja Wilson (32 points) along with Jackie Young (34 points) became the third duo in the franchise’s history to log 30+ points each in a game. Interestingly, Wilson (36 points) was also part of the second duo along with Kelsey Plum (30 points) last year to do the same. The first record was set by her head coach Becky Hammon with Sophia Young-Malcolm in 2009.

A’ja Wilson is certainly taking the ‘Aces vs Everybody’ mantra to heart. With an average of 28.6 points and 11.7 rebounds, she truly is having one of the best displays of her WNBA career so far. While the Phoenix Mercury took the loss, the difference was only four points. Does this mean that the Aces are still facing defensive troubles? We will find out as they next host last year’s finalists for another face-off with New York.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.