LAS VEGAS (July 13, 2018)–With a 24-point victory over the Chicago Sky Tuesday night, the Aces maintained a firm grasp on ninth place in the WNBA and moved to within a-game-and-a-half of Atlanta in eighth. The top eight teams advance to the WNBA playoffs regardless of conference. The Aces take on the defending champion Minnesota Lynx on Friday at 5:00 PM PT.

After beginning the year with a 1-7 record, Las Vegas has gone 8-5 over its last 13 games, and is riding a three-game winning streak into Friday’s matchup.  The Aces’ improvement has come on both ends of the floor, but particularly on the offensive end.

The Aces are led by Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player candidate A’ja Wilson. The 6-4 forward earned her first Western Conference Player of the Week award last week after averaging 29.0 points, 4.5 blocks and 9.0 rebounds in wins over Chicago and Connecticut. On the season, Wilson ranks second in the league in points (20.6), fourth in rebounds (8.5) and sixth in blocks (1.67).

Wilson is joined by 2018 All-Star candidate Kayla McBride, who is averaging career highs in scoring (18.9), field goal percentage (.470), three-point field goal percentage (.448) and assists (2.8).

The pair are averaging a combined 41.8 points per game over the last 13 games—tops in the W.

Minnesota has retuned to its winnings ways after a slow start to the season. The Lynx have won 10 of their last 13 games after beginning the season with a 2-5 record. Minnesota is led by a dynamic duo of their own in Maya Moore and last year’s league MVP Sylvia Fowles. Moore leads the Lynx in scoring, averaging 19.0 points a game, while Fowles is the team’s defensive stalwart, posting 17.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest.

The Aces and the Lynx met once earlier this season as Minnesota picked up its fourth consecutive win at the time with an 88-73 victory over the Aces at Mandalay Bay Events Center. McBride led the Aces with an 18-point performance, but the Lynx limited Wilson to a career-low 10 points. Moore and Fowles combined to score 43 points on 17 of 30 shooting from the field as Minnesota made 55.1 percent of its shots in the night.