LAS VEGAS, NV (May 13, 2022)—The Las Vegas Aces (1-0) jumped out to a double-digit lead after one quarter, and a 20-point advantage at the half, en route to an 84-77 preseason win over the visiting New York Liberty (0-2). Kelsey Plum led all scorers with 22 points, while A’ja Wilson added 17 and Chelsea Gray chipped in 15.
Photo Gallery
KEY RUNS
First Quarter (Las Vegas 25, New York 15)
New York led by as many as 6 early, but Las Vegas scored 9 straight and 16 of the final 18 points of the quarter to lead by 7. Kelsey Plum scored 10 points in the quarter on 4 of 5 shooting from the field.
Second Quarter (Las Vegas 50, New York 30)
Las Vegas scored the first 6 points of the quarter, and used a 9-0 run midway through the period to go up 20. A’ja Wilson was a perfect 3 for 3 from the field, and scored a game-high 9 points in the second. Wilson, Plum and Chelsea Gray outscored the Liberty 43-30 in the first 20 minutes.
Third Quarter (Las Vegas 73, New York 52)
The Aces’ lead vacillated between 16 and 21 points throughout the quarter. Seven different players scored for Las Vegas in the period.
Fourth Quarter (Las Vegas 84, New York 77)
Both teams played their benches for the entirety of the fourth quarter, New York’s Jocelyn Willoughby scored a game-high 8 points in the period. The Liberty made 66.7 percent of their shots from the field in the quarter, while Las Vegas connected on just 25.0 percent.
KEY STATS
It has been 1,156 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered. In 2022, three officers were federally charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and civil rights violations . One of the officers later pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the case.
The Aces made 47.6 percent of their field goal attempts in the first half compared to 31.6 percent for the Liberty.
Las Vegas outscored New York 28-10 in the paint in the first half.
GAME NOTES
Riquna Williams did not dress for the Aces, and neither did Courtney Vandersloot and Marine Johannes for the Liberty.
NEXT OPPONENT
The Aces begin defense of their 2022 WNBA Championship at Seattle on Saturday May 20. Tip is slated for 12 pm PT on ABC.