LAS VEGAS (July 22, 2018)—The 2018 WNBA playoff picture keeps getting murkier and murkier as just four games separate second and ninth place. One thing that is clear is that Las Vegas has its destiny in its own hands with 10 games remaining in the regular season. The Aces are now one game behind Connecticut in eighth place in the WNBA standings heading into Sunday afternoon’s match up against the Indiana Fever. Tip at Mandalay Bay Events Center is at 3 pm PT.

After starting the year by losing seven of their first eight games, the Aces have since gone 10-6, including wins in five of their last six contests.  The team has improved on both sides of the ball, but particularly on the offensive end.

Las Vegas’ All-Stars—Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player candidate A’ja Wilson and  Kayla McBride—have led the Aces back into the playoff race. Wilson is sixth in the league in scoring (19.8), third in rebounding (8.9) and fifth in blocked shots (1.83); while McBride is eighth in scoring (19.5), fourth in free throw percentage (.910), and 11th in three-point field goal percentage (.395).

Over the last 16 games, Wilson and McBride have been one of the most productive scoring duos in the WNBA.

Kelsey Plum has also been key to the team’s recent success, making 50.0 percent of her three-pointers over the last 16 games, and she now ranks first in the WNBA in three-point field goal percentage. Tamera Young has her scoring average back into double figures , as she is averaging a career-high 10.2 points per game.

The Indiana Fever are coming off their third win of the season—a 78-76 road victory over the Los Angeles Sparks. The Fever acquired veteran guard Cappie Pondexter in a trade seven games ago, and she is averaging 12.0 points since making her way to Indiana.  The Fever have two other double-digit scorers in Candace Dupree (13.5 ppg) and Kelsey Mitchell (13.0).

The Aces needed overtime to defeat Indiana in the first meeting between the clubs this year back on June 12. Wilson scored a career-high 35 points in the 101-92 victory, including 10 in the extra period. The South Caroline native also went 16 for 24 from the field, and grabbed 13 boards in the win. McBride poured in 18 points, and Dearice Hamby came off the bench to score 11.

Natalie Achonwa recorded a 26-point, 15-rebound double-double in the loss for Indiana. Four other members of the Fever scored in double figures.