LAS VEGAS (July 16, 2024)—The Las Vegas Aces (16-8) fought back from a 21-point deficit to tie the game with 4 minutes remaining, but were unable to hold back the Chicago Sky (10-14), leading to a 93-85 loss on Tuesday night in Michelob ULTRA Arena. A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 28 points and 14 rebounds, Tiffany Hayes scored 19 points and Jackie Young contributed 17.
Chennedy Carter scored a season-high 34 points for the Sky.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
First Quarter Highlights (Chicago 25, Las Vegas 12)
The Sky started off on an 11-2 run, during which time the Aces had 4 turnovers. With Chicago holding a 21-5 lead, the Aces scored 6-straight points, but the Sky closed the quarter on a 4-2 spurt for a 13-point advantage. The Aces shot 38.5% from the field and the Sky made 40% of their field goal attempts. However, the Sky were 8 of 8 from the line and the Aces made 2 of 4 of their free throw attempts. The Aces also gave up 6 points off 6 turnovers, while getting 0 points from the Sky’s lone turnover. Wilson had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Carter scored 14 for Chicago.
Second Quarter Highlights (Chicago 44, Las Vegas 37)
The Sky continued to pull away and doubled up the Aces, 42-21, at 4:07. The game’s next 16 points came from the Aces, who pulled back to 42-37 with 42.6 seconds to play before halftime. The Aces connected on 55% of their field goal attempts while Chicago made 50% from the field. Las Vegas had just 2 turnovers for 3 Chicago points, while the Sky coughed up the ball 6 times for 7 Aces points. Young scored a high of 11 for the Aces and Marina Mabrey had 6 for the Sky.
Third Quarter Highlights (Chicago 69, Las Vegas 63)
The Aces pulled to within 4 points at 7:12, but the Sky countered and went back up double-digits starting at 4:33 through the final minute. Trailing 69-56 with a minute to play in the 3rd, the Aces scored the final 7 points of the quarter. The Sky shot 10 of 15 from the field and the Aces hit on 8 of their 14 field goal attempts. Wilson had 11 points and Carter scored 8.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Chicago 93, Las Vegas 85)
The Aces made a final run in the 4th quarter, tying up the score 77-77 at 4:07, and taking a 79-78 lead on a pair of Wilson free throws at 3:34. Their comeback hopes were dashed, however, after Chicago went on a 10-2 run and the Aces were unable to recover. The Aces cooled to 36.8% from the field in the final quarter and the Sky netted 42.9% of their field goal attempts. Wilson had 6 points and 6 caroms in the final frame, while Carter scored 10.
KEY STATS
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The Aces netted 47% of their shots from the field (31-66 FGs) and the Sky hit on 48.6% (35-72 FGs) of theirs.
Las Vegas shot 18 of 22 from the charity stripe; Chicago made 19 of 22 from the line.
The Sky outrebounded the Aces 35-26, including 7-3 on the offensive boards.
The Sky outscored the Aces 50-36 points in the paint and 14-3 on second-chance points, while the Aces outscored the Sky 15-9 on the fast break and 25-19 off the bench.
GAME NOTES
Wilson grabbed a combined 69 rebounds over her past 4 games (20 at Seattle, 18 at Atlanta, 17 at Washington, 14 vs. Chicago), which are the 2nd-most in a 4-game span in WNBA history (Tina Charles, 70 rebounds, June 18-25, 2010). The 5-game record is 86, also held by Charles (June 18-27, 2010).
Wilson blocked 5 shots giving her 412 for her career, which are the 12th most in the WNBA’ history. Taj McWilliams-Franklin is 11th on the list with 443.
Wilson extended her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to 37 games—the longest active streak in the league, and tied for the 24th longest in WNBA history.
Wilson’s 14 rebounds give her 1,923 for her career, which are the 30th most in WNBA history. Next up on the list is Tammy Sutton-Brown (29th, 2,010).
Wilson recorded her 15th double-double of the season (28 points, 14 rebounds) and the 91st of her career—the 7th most in WNBA history. Tamika Catchings is next on the list with 96.
Wilson recorded her 15th 20-10 game of the season and the 67th of her career, which is the 5th-most in WNBA history. Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker are tied for 3rd with 71 each. It was also Wilson’s 6th straight 20-10 game, breaking her own month-old WNBA record of 5 straight.
Gray handed out 5 assists and now has 1,556 for her career—the 9th most in WNBA history. Cappie Pondexter is 8th on the list with 1,578.
Hayes heads into the Olympic break ranked No. 36 on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list with 4,457 points. Kristi Toliver is No. 35 with 4,474. Wilson is ranked No. 39 with 4,414 points, trailing No. 38 Crystal Langhorne (4,433) and No. 37 Jia Perkins (4,435).
NEXT UP
The Aces, and the rest of the WNBA, head to Phoenix for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2024 this weekend. They then take a 4-week break for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The Aces return to action on August 17 as they host the New York Liberty for a 1 pm PT tip on CBS.