HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces are flush with an array of accomplished pros, all with seemingly a singular focus while fans are buzzing about the arrival of Caitlin Clark.
Kate Martin, a rookie trying to make the Aces roster and a Clark teammate at Iowa, is adjusting to the environment.
“It’s hard not to get star struck every day I walk into the facility,” Martin said.
That's understandable. It's been hard for everyone to keep up with A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and the Aces. They became the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02 to win consecutive titles when they beat the New York Liberty in four games of last year's WNBA Finals.
Now the Aces are trying to become the first team to win three straight since the Houston Comets won the first four WNBA championships in league history in 1997-2000.
The Aces are plus-100 favorites to win it again, according to BetMGM. New York at plus-230 is the only team close to the champs.
Anticipation again is high in Las Vegas. The Aces led the WNBA in attendance last season with 9,551 fans per game, and this March became the first team in league history to sell out its season-ticket allotment.
Last season, however, will be tough to top. The Aces won a league-record 34 games during the regular season, thanks partially an expanded 40-game schedule. Their .850 winning percentage was fifth best of all time.
But four days after winning the championship and being named WNBA Finals MVP, Wilson promised at the victory parade, “We’re going to do this ... again.”
“I'm sure a lot of people think we're arrogant in some cases, but we're us and we're true to us,” Wilson said. “So we can't worry about what anyone else has going on or what they bring in here. We've just got to worry about ourselves. Yeah, we're going to get everybody's best game. I think that's what makes us great.”
Wilson said the Aces want to be tested and that “no one wants it to be a cakewalk.”
Even with its history-making season last year, Las Vegas faced challenges along the way.
Former two-time MVP Candace Parker didn't play after undergoing foot surgery in late July, and Gray and Kiah Stokes didn't play in Game 4 against the Liberty also because of foot injuries.
Gray's injury, in particular, seemed to be a particularly devastating setback. She was named WNBA Finals MVP in 2022 after a four-game victory over the Connecticut Sun, a five-time All-Star point guard.
Even without Gray, the Aces managed to pull out a 70-69 victory over the Liberty.
“We're used to dealing with adversity,” coach Becky Hammon said. “I think (perseverance) is definitely a talent they have been forced to develop. I don't know if we've always had that. Being a resilient group has become a staple and an identification piece for us.”
Many opponents might have different definitions of adversity after watching the Aces roll through last season. They also went 60-16 over the previous two years.
The Aces have succeeded with a group of four core players, a mix of regular-season and WNBA Finals MVPs, All-Stars and No. 1 overall draft picks.
Three of the four — Wilson, Gray and Young — are signed through the 2025 season. Plum's contract ends after this season unless she reaches an agreement to extend it.
“I think it's everything to be able to keep that chemistry and build off it year after year,” Plum said. “We've been building this thing for a while, so there's definitely a lot of pride in that. The city takes a lot of pride in that. This organization takes a lot of pride in that. There's a lot of loyalty here.”
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
FILE -Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) plays against the New York Liberty during Game 1 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Aces signed three-time WNBA Champion Chelsea Gray to a contract extension, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
FILE - Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson (22) looks to pass during the first half in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series against the New York Liberty Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, in New York. Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner will be back on the courts chasing another WNBA title when camps open on Sunday, April 28. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
FILE- The Las Vegas Aces celebrate with the trophy after Game 4 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series against the New York Liberty Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in New York. The two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces are favored to win the title again. They return their core four players to the roster from a team that became the first in more than 20 years to repeat as champions. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
FILE - Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson holds up the championship trophy as she celebrates with her team their win in the WNBA basketball finals against the Connecticut Sun, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in Uncasville, Conn. The two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces are favored to win the title again. They return their core four players to the roster from a team that became the first in more than 20 years to repeat as champions. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary.
Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. The bodies of a man and a woman were later discovered nearby.
Hours after police began their search, they discovered a damaged boat in the water, which they towed to shore. They are still searching for five adults — three men and two women — who they believe were on the boat.
Police said they determined that a river cruise boat had been in the area at the time of the accident. They stopped a cruise boat with a damaged hull near the town of Komarom, more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) further upriver.
Hungarian public television station M1 reported that the cruise boat, Heidelberg, is a 109-meter (357-foot) Swiss craft that can accommodate 110 people. No passengers on that boat sustained injuries, M1 said.
The Danube at Veroce is roughly 1,500 feet (460 meters) wide and is in the center of an area called the Danube Bend where the river makes a sweeping, nearly 90-degree turn to the south. The area is a popular recreational and boating destination and is on a route often used by cruise boats between Budapest and the Austrian capital, Vienna, some 140 miles (230 kilometers) upriver.
The deadly accident comes five years after at least 27 people were killed in Budapest when a river cruise boat collided with a smaller tourist vessel, sinking it in seconds.
The tourist boat Hableany, carrying 35 people who were mostly South Korean tourists, was overtaken from behind by the much larger cruise boat, Viking Sigyn, beneath Budapest's Margit Bridge, in May 2019.
The Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn was last year found guilty of negligence leading to a fatal mass catastrophe and sentenced to five years and six months in prison. He has appealed the decision.
Police on Sunday said they have initiated criminal proceedings against an unknown perpetrator on suspicion of endangering water transport and causing the death of several people.
A spokesperson for the Directorate General for Disaster Management told Hungarian news agency MTI that a group of nearly 90 people from several regional disaster management agencies were conducting the search for the missing from the land, water and sky.
Twelve boats and three drones are involved in the search, and two rescue divers are also involved, Imre Doka said.
Police investigators examine the bow of a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
This photo provided by BRFK Facebook shows a damaged boat at the northern edge of Budapest where it was towed, after being discovered in the water by police following a boat collision on the Danube River Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say people have died and several are missing. (BRFK Facebook via AP)
his photo provided by BRFK Facebook shows a damaged boat at the northern edge of Budapest where it was towed, after being discovered in the water by police following a boat collision on the Danube River Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say people have died and several are missing. (BRFK Facebook via AP)
A car of the diving service of the fire brigade is parked behind the closed gate of a military port where rescuers search for victims of a boat accident in Northern Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Last night a motor boat with eight persons onboard crashed with a large river cruise ship on River Danube, north of Budapest. One person has been rescued with serious injuries, two bodies have been recovered and five passengers of the boat are looked for. (Peter Lakatos/MTI via AP)
A car of the diving service of the fire brigade is parked behind the closed gate of a military port where rescuers search for victims of a boat accident in Northern Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Last night a motor boat with eight persons onboard crashed with a large river cruise ship on River Danube, north of Budapest. One person has been rescued with serious injuries, two bodies have been recovered and five passengers of the boat are looked for. (Peter Lakatos/MTI via AP)
A view of the damage of the bow of a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
Police officers stand on the deck of a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
Police look at a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
The bow of a river cruise ship is examined by police experts after the ship was stopped in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Last night the ship crashed with a motor boat with eight persons onboard on River Danube, north of Budapest. One person has been rescued with serious injuries, two bodies have been recovered and five passengers of the boat are being looked for. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
Police investigators examine the bow of a river cruise ship after an incident, in Komarom, Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. Hungarian police received a report late Saturday night that a man had been found with a head injury on the shore of the Danube near the town of Veroce, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the capital, Budapest. (Csaba Krizsan/MTI via AP)
Damage is seen on the front of the cruise ship which was involved in a Danube River accident earlier in Budapest Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
Damage is seen on the front of the cruise ship which was involved in a Danube River accident earlier in Budapest Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
Damage is seen on the front of the cruise ship which was involved in a Danube River accident earlier in Budapest Hungary, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Police say two people have died and five are missing following a boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
