INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Sept. 11, 2024)—A’ja Wilson finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Aces (23-13) to an 86-75 victory over the Fever (19-18). In doing so, she set the WNBA single-season scoring record on Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Alysha Clark and Tiffany Hayes came off the bench for 14 and 12 points respectively, while Chelsea Gray rounded out the Aces double-digit scorers with 11 points.
Indiana received a team-high 24 points from Kelsey Mitchell.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
The Aces win moves them 1.5 games ahead of Seattle in the race for 4th place in the WNBA standings. The Storm take on the Los Angeles Sparks later this evening. Las Vegas currently owns the tiebreaker over Seattle having won 2 of the 3 meetings between the clubs this year, but they play one another in the penultimate game of the regular season in the Emerald City on Sept. 17. Indiana is now 3 games behind Seattle in the race for 5th.
| W | L | GB | |
| New York * | 30 | 6 | — |
| Minnesota * | 27 | 9 | 3.0 |
| Connecticut * | 26 | 10 | 4.0 |
| Las Vegas * | 23 | 13 | 7.0 |
| Seattle * & | 21 | 14 | 8.5 |
| Indiana* | 19 | 18 | 11.5 |
| Phoenix* | 17 | 19 | 13.0 |
| Chicago | 13 | 22 | 16.5 |
| Atlanta | 12 | 24 | 18.0 |
| Washington | 11 | 24 | 18.5 |
| Dallas ^ | 9 | 27 | 21.0 |
| Los Angeles ^ & | 7 | 29 | 23.0 |
| * Clinched Playoff Berth ^ Eliminated & Playing tonight |
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First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 20, Indiana 18)
After spotting Indiana 7 points to start, Wilson scored 6 consecutive points in her personal 8-3 run that left the score 10-8 Indiana at 5:10. After a Fever traditional 3-point play, Wilson swished in 2 from the line at 4:13 to tie the WNBA regular-season scoring record with 839 points, originally set by Jewell Loyd in 2023. Hayes scored 8 points in a 10-3 Aces run to close out the quarter. The Aces shot 35% from the field and the Fever nailed 33.3% of theirs. Wilson scored 10 points and 2 Fever players had 5 apiece .
Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 41, Indiana 32)
A 10-3 Aces run at the beginning of the first quarter gave Las Vegas a 30-21 advantage. The Aces continued to pull away and a Clark 3-pointer with 1:47 to play before half put visitors up by 12, 39-27. Wilson hit a 17-foot jumper at 26.4 seconds to own the league’s scoring record outright. Clark scored 9 points on 3 of 3 from distance for the Aces and Mitchell topped the Fever with 6 points. The Aces shot 53.3% from the field, 3 of 6 from 3-point, and the Fever made just 31.2% of their field goal attempts, including 1 of 7 from afar.
Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 64, Indiana 57)
The Aces pulled ahead by 11 in the first 40 seconds, 43-32, but Indiana came back and closed to 49-48 midway through the third. The Aces again got an 11-point separation, 64-53, before the Fever notched the final 4 of the quarter. Las Vegas netted 9 of 20 of their field goal attempts and went 2 of 4 from 3-point, while the Fever were 10 of 20 overall but just 1 of 4 from distance. Plum scored a high of 8 for the Aces and Mitchell had 7 for the Fever.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 86, Indiana 75)
The Fever never got closer than 6 in the final period. The Aces made 46.7% of their field goal attempts and the Fever shot 43.8% of theirs. Wilson scored 11 and two Indiana players had 6 each.
KEY STATS
It has been 1,643 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered. In 2022, three officers were federally charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and civil rights violations. One of the officers later pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the case. A second officer went to trial on October 30, 2023, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. Charges were refiled, and the new trial is scheduled for October 14, 2024.
The ACLU is currently tracking 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States, up from 515 at the start of the 2024 WNBA season.
In order to register online to vote in Nevada, eligible voters must do so 5 days before Election Day. The next presidential election is on November 5, 2024. Registration by mail must be postmarked 28 days before Election Day. In person registration is available up to and including on Election Day. For additional information, please visit the Nevada Secretary of State website. For information on how to register and where to vote in your state, please visit usa.gov.
The Aces shot 31 of 70 from the field (.443) and 10 of 22 from 3-point range (.455), while the Fever made 29 of 73 (.397) overall and 7 of 26 (.269) from distance.
Indiana made 10 of 16 free throws while Las Vegas went 14 of 17.
The Fever outscored Las Vegas 40-24 in the paint and 13-7 on second chances.
The Aces scored 13 points off the Fever’s 14 turnovers and gave up just 4 points off their own 10 miscues.
The Aces dished out 20 assists on 31 field goals, including 12 dimes off 15 buckets in the first half alone. In contrast, the Fever had 15 assists on 29 made field goals.
The Aces bench outscored the Fever reserves 30-11, and did not commit a turnover.
GAME NOTES
A’ja Wilson Section
Wilson’s 27 points give her 956 for the season, which breaks the WNBA single season record of 939 set a year ago by Jewell Loyd. Wilson tied the record with a free throw at 4:13 in the first quarter, then moved alone into the lead on a 17-foot jumper with 26.4 seconds remaining in the first half.
Wilson (27 points) has scored 20 or more points 32 times this season, or 91.4% of her games. She is on track to finish with the highest percentage of 20-point games in a season in league history.
Tonight marked Wilson’s league-record 9th career double-double with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 0 turnovers (27 points, 12 rebounds, 0 turnovers). Only 2 other players in league history have done so in 6 or more games (Lauren Jackson, Breanna Stewart).
Wilson (27 points) extended her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to 48 games—the longest active streak in the league, and is the 13th longest in WNBA history. Should she extend her streak for another 2 games, she will become the first player in league history with multiple double-digit scoring streaks of 50 or more games.
Wilson’s 12 rebounds give her 2,054 for her career which are the 29th most in WNBA history. Next up on the list is Chasity Melvin in 28th place with 2,117 boards.
Wilson’s 27 points give her 4,717 for her career, moving her past Chamique Holdsclaw (4,716) into 32nd place on the WNBA career scoring list. Skylar Diggins Smith is next on the list with 4,725 points.
Wilson’s 12 rebounds give her 418 for the year. She is now 29 rebounds away from breaking the WNBA’s single-season record of 446 established by Angel Reese earlier this year.
Wilson’s 3 blocked shots give her 94 for the year which are the 11th most in the history of the WNBA in a single season, 2 behind Margo Dydek’s 96 in 2000. Only 2 players have ever blocked 100 or more shots in a year—Brittney Grier (3 times) and Dydek (4 times)
Wilson’s 3 blocks and 2 steals give her 160 “stocks” (steals plus blocks) for the year, extending her WNBA single season record.
Rest of the Team Section
Gray handed out 4 assists to give her 1,617 for her career—the 8th most in WNBA history. Candace Parker is 7th on the list with 1,634 dimes.
Hayes scored 12 points to give her 4,580 for her career, moving her closer to Penny Taylor in 35th place on the list with 4,606.
Kelsey Plum made 2 3-pointers and now has 99 on the season. With 1 more 3-pointer, Plum will become the third player in WNBA history with 100 3PM in multiple seasons, behind Diana Taurasi (2006, 2018) and Arike Ogunbowale (2023, 2024). Plum also hit the mark in 2022 when she connected on 113 made 3s.
Sydney Colson dished out a season-high 4 assists.
NEXT UP
The Aces conclude their 4-game east coast road trip on Friday with their second consecutive game against Indiana. Tip at Gainbridge Field House is slated for 4:30 pm PT, and the game is being broadcast nationally on ION. Please check local listings to see if ION is showing the Aces game on your television or streaming provider.