BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (July 8, 2025)—The Las Vegas Aces (9-10) were tied up against the New York Liberty (13-6) with less than 5 minutes to play, but were unable to hold on and fell 87-78 to the hosts on Tuesday night in Brooklyn. The Aces received 19 points from Jackie Young, Dana Evans checked in for 16 points, Chelsea Gray and NaLyssa Smith each had 11 and Jewell Loyd chipped in 10.

A’ja Wilson injured her right wrist with 4:13 remaining in the second quarter. She subbed out at 2:22 and did not return to the game.

Sabrina Ionescu paced five Liberty players in double-digit scoring with a game-high 28 points.

Box Score | Photos | Highlights

First Quarter Highlights (New York 19, Las Vegas 16)
There were 3 lead changes and 2 knotted scores in a close first quarter that saw neither team hold more than a 5-point lead. Las Vegas made 6 of 21 (.286) from the field and 2 of 10 from 3-point, while New York hit 8 of their 19 (.421) field goal attempts and 3 of 8 from distance. Smith scored a high of 6 for the Aces and Leonie Fiebich and Breanna Stewart had 5 apiece for New York.

Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 42, New York 40)
With the Aces trailing 21-20, NY strung together 8 consecutive points for a 29-20 lead at 7:16. Las Vegas struck back with a 10-3 run to close to 32-30 and the game was tied up at 40-all with just over a minute left on the clock. Following a Liberty turnover, the Aces scored the final points of the first half with 1.5 seconds on the clock. The Aces shooting improved to 55.6% in the quarter, while the Liberty made 44.4% of their attempts. Gray, Loyd and Young scored 6 apiece and Ionescu had 6 for the Liberty.

Third Quarter Highlights (New York 62, Las Vegas 60)
After New York tied the game 42-42, the Aces ran out to a 51-44 lead at 6:41. The Liberty responded by outscoring the Aces 12-3 to retake the lead, 56-54, with just under four minutes left in the period. Las Vegas hit 50% of its field goal attempts and held NY to 37.5%. The Aces made 5 of 5 from the line and New York went 9 of 10. Ionescu scored 7 for NY and Young had 5 for Las Vegas.

Fourth Quarter Highlights (New York 87, Las Vegas 78)
The score remained within 3 points and the Aces held a 72-70 lead with 4:59 to play. However, the Aces went 0 of 3 from the floor and turned the ball over 3 times during a 10-0 Liberty run for the final lead change of the night as the home side took an 80-72 lead with 2:36 to play. From there, only 1 field goal went in as the Aces scored 6 of 8 from the line and the Liberty went 5 of 7, including an and-1. Las Vegas made 30% of its field goal attempts, while NY made 47.1% of theirs. Evans and Smith each added 5 points in the final frame, while Ionescu scored 11.

KEY STATS

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The Aces netted 25 of 61 (.410) from the floor, including 7 of 26 (.269) from distance, while the Liberty made 30 of 70 (.429) of their field goal attempts and 7 of 27 (.259) from 3-point.

From the line, Las Vegas went 21 of 24 (.875) and New York was 20 of 26 (.769), including 8 of 9 in the final 4:59.

The Aces scored 18 points off 11 New York turnovers, but gave up 23 points off their own 16 miscues.

New York held a 34-32 edge on the glass, and outscored the Aces 38-32 in the paint, 16-12 on second chances and 17-17 on the fast break.

In all, the game featured 9 lead changes, 8 knotted scores and neither team held more than a 9-point lead.

GAME NOTES

With 1 steal and 1 blocked shot, Gray now needs just 2 steals to become just the 5^th player in WNBA history with at least 4,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 1,500 assists, 400 steals and 100 blocked shots. Gray, who has played in 344 games, should become the second-fastest behind Alyssa Thomas (327) and ahead of current No. 2 Candace Parker (377). She currently has 4,157 points, 1,093 rebounds, 1,713 assists, 398 steals and 100 blocked shots.

Wilson’s streak of 66 straight games scoring in double figures came to an end with her injury. It stands as the 6th longest streak in league history and was the longest active streak.

Loyd now has 5,733 points for her career, which ranks No. 20 in WNBA history. Brittney Griner is No. 19 with 5,742; Wilson’s 5,113 points ranks No. 26, with Swin Cash‘s 5,119 points listing at No. 25.

Entering the game needing 7 points to hit the 3,000-point mark and now has 3,012. She is the 5th player in franchise history to hit that milestone.

The Aces were without Megan Gustafson (lower left leg) and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (pregnancy).

UP NEXT: The Aces conclude their five-game road trip with a July 10 visit to Washington (9-10), which edged Chicago 81-79 in Tuesday’s other contest. The game, which tips at 4:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on Prime Video and Vegas 34, will be played on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, at EagleBank Arena, formerly known as the Patriot Center.