UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT (Sept. 6, 2024)—After falling behind by 15 points in the waning minutes of the first half, the Las Vegas Aces (24-10) went down to the wire in a hard-fought, 72-67, victory over the host Connecticut Sun (24-10) on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Kelsey Plum scored a game-high 27 points, A’ja Wilson tallied 20 points, 15 in the second half, and Chelsea Gray notched 11 of her 13 points in the second half.
Brionna Jones scored a high of 17 for the Sun.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
Las Vegas’ win moved them 2 games ahead of Seattle for the No. 4 seed and 2 games behind C0nnecticut for the No. 3 seed with 6 games to play.
| W | L | GB | |
| New York * | 28 | 6 | — |
| Minnesota * | 25 | 9 | 3.0 |
| Connecticut * | 24 | 10 | 4.0 |
| Las Vegas * | 22 | 12 | 6.0 |
| Seattle * | 20 | 14 | 8.0 |
| Indiana* | 18 | 17 | 10.5 |
| Phoenix* | 17 | 18 | 11.5 |
| Atlanta | 12 | 22 | 16.0 |
| Chicago | 11 | 22 | 16.5 |
| Washington | 11 | 23 | 17.0 |
| Dallas | 9 | 25 | 19.0 |
| Los Angeles | 7 | 26 | 20.5 |
| * Clinched Playoff Berth | |||
First Quarter Highlights (Connecticut 22, Las Vegas 17)
After an Aces 5-0 run opened the game, the Sun regained the lead 10-9 and went ahead by 7, 22-15, before the Aces got the final bucket of the quarter. The Aces hit just 8 of their 20 field goal attempts, while the Sun netted 11 of 15 from the field. The Aces scored 8 points off 5 Sun turnovers and gave up 4 points off their own 3 miscues. Plum notched 9 points for the Aces and Jones had 8 for the Sun.
Second Quarter Highlights (Connecticut 38, Las Vegas 26)
Connecticut took its largest lead of the game, 38-23, after a pair of free throws from DiJonai Carrington at 1:47 in the 2nd stanza. The Sun went 2 of 12 from the floor and the Aces were 1 of 14. However, after a combined 3 fouls were whistled in the first quarter, a total of 15 were called in the second. The Sun collected 11 points (11-14 FTs) from the charity stripe and the Aces scored 6 of 8 from the line. Plum scored 7 and Carrington had 6 for the Sun.
Third Quarter Highlights (Connecticut 52, Las Vegas 49)
A 12-2 run out of the locker room helped the Aces slice the deficit to 40-38. The Sun’s lead never grew to more than 6 points as the Aces outscored the home team 23-14 in the third. The Aces made 55.6% of their field goal attempts and held the Sun to 37.5%. The Aces gave up 2 points off their own 2 turnovers, but scored 5 points off Connecticut’s 4 TOs. Wilson scored 8 points and Connecticut got 5 points from 2 different players.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 72, Connecticut 67)
The Sun held its largest lead of the quarter, 56-49, at 8:58. However, the Aces chipped away at the gap and with 2:09 on the clock, Wilson hit a pair from the line for the first Aces lead (66-65) since opening stanza, then hit a go-ahead jumper with less than a minute to play (68-67). After a miss on the other end, Gray put the nail in the coffin with a 3 at 18.8 seconds. Both teams shot 6 of 13 from the field, but the Aces netted a pair of 3-pointers to none from the Sun, and went 9 of 10 from the line to 3 of 3 by Connecticut. Wilson topped the Aces with 7 points and Alyssa Thomas paced the Sun with 5.
KEY STATS
It has been 1,638 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 25 of 65 from the field (.385) and 6 of 20 from 3-point range (.300), while the Sun made 25 of 56 (.446) overall and 3 of 16 (.188) from distance.
The Aces flipped the Sun’s 19 turnovers into 16 points and gave up 12 points on their own 15 miscues.
The Connecticut bench outscored the Las Vegas reserves 17-10.
GAME NOTES
A’ja Wilson Section
Wilson (20 points) extended her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to 47 games—the longest active streak in the league, and tied for the 13th longest in WNBA history. Should she extend her streak for another 3 games, she will become the first player in league history with multiple double-digit scoring streaks of 50 or more games.
Wilson’s 8 rebounds give her 2,042 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 20 points give her 929 for the year which are the 2nd most in the history of the league in a single season. Jewell Loyd is No. 1 on the list with 939 points scored in 2023.
Wilson now has 4,690 points in her career, which are the 34th most in WNBA history. Ellena Delle Donne is next on the list with 4,706 points.
Wilson’s 8 rebounds give her 406 for the year which moves her past Tina Charles (5th, 398 in 2010), Jonquel Jones, (4th, 402 in 2023), and Sylvia Fowles (3rd, 404 in 2018) into 2nd place on the WNBA’s single-season rebound chart.
Wilson’s 2 blocked shots give her 91 for the year which are the 11th most in the history of the WNBA in a single season. Only 2 players have ever blocked 100 or more shots in a season—Brittney Grier (3 times) and Margo Dydek (4 times)
Wilson’s 2 blocks and 2 steals give her 155 “stocks” (steals plus blocks) for the year, moving her past Brittney Griner (151) for the most in the history of the WNBA in a single season. Wilson’s steal at 3:19 in the first quarter gave her the record.
Rest of the Team Section
Chelsea Gray handed out 6 assists to give her 1,607 for her career—the 8th most in WNBA history. Candace Parker is 7th on the list with 1,634 dimes.
Tiffany Hayes scored 4 points to give her 4,561 for her career, moving her closer to Penny Taylor in 35th place on the list with 4,606.
The 26 points in the first half were the fewest scored by the Aces in a half this season (28 in the first half on June 7 vs. Seattle).
NEXT UP
The Aces travel to league-leading New York (28-6) for a Sunday, Sept. 8, contest. The game will tip at 1 pm and is being broadcast nationally on ESPN.