Becky Hammon got straight to the point.

After the Las Vegas Aces were shut down in a 71-60 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday, Hammon said her team "played like a--" in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals.

But Vegas can still turn this around. It is a best-of-five series, and the Aces have a championship pedigree this decade that no other team can match.

"We played like a-- and only lost by 10," Hammon said.

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However, based on their Game 1 display, the Aces have a long, long way to go against a locked-in Valkyries team that rolled to a win at Chase Center.

Becky Hammon did not mince her words 😬 The Aces lost to the Valkyries by 11 points in Game 1 of the semifinal. https://t.co/GnuDB7avu0

— espnW (@espnW) October 4, 2026

The Aces' 60 points were their fewest in a game for more than a year. Las Vegas' lack of depth was exposed again; NaLyssa Smith's season-ending knee injury stripped the Aces of size and scoring touch from the bench. Starting forward Stephanie Talbot remains out with a leg injury, and Jewell Loyd went down with an injury of her own in Game 1.

It gets much worse than that, though. The Valkyries had a crushing advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Aces 52-25, including a 17-2 offensive rebounding margin. Golden State's ability to tap into a deep bench plays into their hands, too; Sixth Player of the Year Janelle Salaun scored just two points in six minutes, but Kaitlyn Chen delivered with 11 out of the Valkyries' 27 bench points.

A'ja Wilson labored to a team-high 24 points; she needed 21 shots to get there. For the first time since May, Wilson accrued just four rebounds in a game, and her 38.1 shooting percentage was her third-worst mark of the 2026 season.

When the Aces' star trio of Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray is firing, no one can beat Vegas in a long series. But the Valkyries' depth and defensive intensity present significant matchup problems that will only get tougher to solve as the semifinals move along.

And Golden State's home advantage -- arguably the best in the WNBA after just two seasons -- gives the Valkyries another reason for optimism, as a deciding Game 5 will be held in their building.

In short, the Aces are in trouble -- and Wilson's presence might not be enough to save them.

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