SAN FRANCISCO (Aug. 6, 2025) — The Las Vegas Aces (16-14) put together a 78-72 victory over the Golden State Valkyries (14-15) on Wednesday evening at ‘Ballhalla’ in San Francisco. The Aces were led by A’ja Wilson with 27 points and 7 rebounds, followed by Jackie Young (14) and Jewell Loyd (14). NaLyssa Smith chipped in 8 points and 9 rebounds and Chelsea Gray added 8 points and 8 caroms.

Tiffany Hayes paced Golden State with 14 points and 9 rebounds and Janelle Salaün recorded 13.

Box Score | Photos | Highlights

SCORE BY PERIOD

First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 16, Golden State 14)
The Aces opened the game on an 8-3 run and held a 12-7 advantage at the 4:40 mark. The Valkyries ended the quarter scoring the last 5 points to close to within 2, 16-14. The teams combined to shoot 2 of 12 (.167) from 3-point range; the Aces shot 42.1% (8-19 FGs) from the floor and the Valkyries shot 37.5% (6-16 FGs). Wilson and Smith recorded 6 points apiece to lead Las Vegas, while Salaün and Temi Fágbénlé tallied 4 points each for the opposition.

Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 43, Golden State 38)
Golden State scored the first 9 points of the quarter, 5 from the charity stripe, to account for a 14-0 run that bridged the two periods and left the Valks on top 23-16. Young broke the Aces scoring drought, which lasted 5 minutes and 5 seconds, to put the Aces on the board for the first time in the quarter at 7:34.  Young’s bucket sparked a 13-4 run, 7 of which came from Young, as the Aces regained the lead 29-27 at 4:50. The edge briefly went back to the Valkryies, 31-29, but a 9-0 spurt put the Aces back on top and they never again trailed. Both teams continued to be cold from distance, combining for 3 of 14 (.214), however, the Aces shot 11 of 15 (.733) from the field while the Valkyries netted 8 of 19 (.421). Wilson posted 8 for Las Vegas, while Kaila Charles and Laeticia Amihere had 7 apiece for Golden State.

Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 64, Golden State 54)
The Valkyries went on a 10-5 run to tie it at 48-48 at the 6:48 mark; Wilson scored all 5 of the Aces points during that stretch. A 10-2 run by the Aces broke the final tie of the night and stretched the lead to 58-50 with 3:20 left in the frame. Both teams shot a perfect 14 of 14 from the free throw line (7 FTAs apiece), but kept cold from distance, hitting a combined 3 of 10 (.300) from 3-point land. Wilson led all scorers in the quarter with 7; Salaün tallied 5 to pace the Valkyries.

Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 78, Golden State 72)
Golden State struck first in the final frame, recording a 9-2 run and bringing the Valkyries within 4, 64-60. The Aces were held scoreless for 3:55 until a Loyd jumper put them on the board. The Aces final 6 points came from the charity stripe — all from Wilson. Hayes led all scorers with 8; Loyd and Wilson netted 6 each for Las Vegas.

KEY STATS
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The Aces shot 45% (27-60 FGs) from the field and 18.5% (5-27 3pt FGs) from distance, while the Valkyries made 39.7% (25-63 FGs) of their field goal attempts and 18.2% (4-22 3pt FGs) behind the arc.

The teams grabbed an even 31 boards, including 9 apiece on the offensive end.

Las Vegas coughed the ball up 16 times but gave up just 7 points, while scoring 8 points from Golden State’s 13 turnovers.

The Aces outscored the Valks 9-6 in second chance points and 9-6 on the fast break but the hosts edged the Aces 34-32 points in the paint.

There were 4 lead changes and 5 tied scores; neither team held more than a 10-point lead.

GAME NOTES
With 2 blocked shots tonight, Wilson is now the 4th player in WNBA history with at least 5,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, 500 assists, 500 blocks and 300 steals. She is the fastest (253 games) and youngest (28 years, 363 days) to those benchmarks. Lisa Leslie hit the quintuple mark in 287 games and Candace Parker was previously the youngest at 32 years and 120 days.

With a successful coaches challenge tonight, the Aces are now 17-3 in successful challenges — the best record in the league — and 5-0 since the All-Star break.

Young missed her first free throw of the game, halting her most recent streak of made free throws at 32, which dated to the fourth quarter against New York on July 8.

Wilson made all 11 of her attempts from the line, the 7th time in her career she’s been perfect at the line with 10 or more attempts, which ranks tied for No. 6 with Lauren Jackson and Katie Smith in WNBA history. No. 1 is Diana Taurasi with 19 such games.

Wilson has now recorded 25 or more points in 71 career games, which ranks No. 4 all-time behind No. 1 Diana Taurasi (140), Tina Charles (82) and Breanna Stewart (77).

The Aces were without Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (pregnancy).

UP NEXT: The Aces return to Michelob ULTRA Arena for a trio of games over the next week, starting with their fourth and final regular season matchup against the Seattle Storm (16-14). The game will tip off at 7 p.m. PT and will air on ION.