LAS VEGAS (September 26, 2023)—The Las Vegas Aces earned a 91-84 victory to improve to 2-0 over Dallas in the WNBA Semifinals behind a 30-point, 11-rebound effort from A’ja Wilson Tuesday night at home in Michelob ULTRA Arena. Wilson’s 30 points, her 3rd-straight playoff game with 30+ points, led four Aces who scored in double figures—Chelsea Gray scored 23, Kelsey Plum had 18 and Jackie Young chipped in 13. Arike Ogunbowale hit 6 of 13 from 3-point range for 24 points for the Wings.
The Aces need just 1 more win in the best-of-five Semifinals series to advance to their 3rd WNBA Finals in 4 seasons, having claimed the championship in 2022 and finished as runners-up in 2020.
Box Score | Photos | Highlights
KEY RUNS
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 26, Dallas 18)
The Aces scored first and went up 11-6 in the first 4 minutes. With Dallas trailing 17-14, Gray hit a long-range 3 and Wilson converted on an and-1 to give the Aces their largest lead of the quarter, 23-14. Wilson scored 10 points and Gray added 9 for the home team, while Kalani Brown checked in for 6 for the Wings. The Aces netted 55.6% of their shots and their defense held the Wings to 30.4% shooting from the field.
Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 44, Dallas 37)
After an initial Aces bucket put them up 28-18, the Wings brought it back to 31-24. An Aces 11-5 spurt seemed to open up the game, 42-29, with 1:40 to play before halftime. However, the Wings got back-to-back 3s from Ogunbowale in an 8-0 run before Kiah Stokes halted the Aces scoring drought for the final points of the half. The Aces shooting cooled to 41.2% in the quarter, while the Wings made 34.8% of their field goal attempts. Dallas outrebounded Las Vegas 5-2 on the offensive glass, and outscored the Aces 6-2 on second chances.
Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 70, Dallas 57)
Dallas scored the first 6 points and its run expanded to 12-5 to even it up 49-all at 7:49. Plum hit her first 3 of the game and followed with 2 from the charity stripe, sparking an 11-2 run for a 60-51 Las Vegas lead with 5:08 left in the quarter. The Aces slowly increased their lead and went up 13 at the end of the period. Plum scored 11 points and Wilson added 8 for the Aces. Natasha Howard and Satou Sabally had 7 points apiece for Dallas. The Aces hit 50% of their shot attempts from the field and 50% from afar. Dallas made 42.1% of their field goal attempts and 40% from behind the arc.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 91, Dallas 84)
The Aces shooting went cold in the early going (1-6 FGs), while Dallas hit 5 of their first 10 attempts in an 11-3 run over the first 3 minutes of the period, slicing the divide to 73-68. Plum netted a 3 at 6:18, followed by a Wilson jumper at 5:41 to momentarily halt the Wings momentum (78-68). With the Aces up 85-76, Dallas got 5-straight to edge to within 4, 85-81, with 1:36 to play. But Dallas missed a field goal and 2 from the line, while Wilson hit her next 4 free throw attempts to make it 89-81, and the Aces held on for the win. Ogunbowale shot 4 of 7 and scored 12 points in the final frame. The Wings outrebounded the Aces 5-1 on the offensive glass. Dallas made 43.5% of their attempts from the floor and 45.5% from 3-point range and the Aces shot 37.5% from the field and 42.9% from afar.
KEY STATS
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Dallas outrebounded Las Vegas 21-8 on the offensive glass.
Dallas outscored Las Vegas 19-14 on 2nd chance points and 42-30 points in the paint.
Wilson hit a perfect 10 of 10 from the line to lead the Aces in making 22 of 25 from the charity stripe; the Wings made 8 of their 13 free throw attempts.