CHICAGO (June 27, 2024)—The Las Vegas Aces (9-6) picked up their 3rd straight win Thursday evening, as A’ja Wilson (31 points), Jackie Young (22 points) and Kelsey Plum (21 points) combined to score 74 points, propelling the Aces to a 95-83 road victory over Chicago (6-10). The Sky had an impressive scoring trio of their own as Marina Mabrey scored 21, Chennedy Carter added 20 and Angel Reese chipped in 18.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
First Quarter Highlights (Chicago 25, Las Vegas 21)
The Aces led by 3, 12-9 with 6:28 to go in the period, but Chicago countered with a 12-3 run to go up 6, 21-15. Wilson scored 15 of the Aces points making 6 of her 10 shots, while Mabrey poured in 13 for Chicago on a perfect 5 for 5 from the field including 2 for 2 from distance. The rest of the Aces went 2 for 8 from the floor, while Mabrey’s teammates combined to go 6 for 14. Chicago made 58.8 percent of its shots in the period, while Las Vegas made 44.4 percent of its shots.
Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 46, Chicago 39)
It was still a 4-point Sky lead with 8:04 on the clock when Las Vegas went on a 16-2 run to go up 10, 41-31, with 3:37 to go. Wilson extended her streak of games with at least 20 or more points by dropping 23 in the first half. She and Young each scored 8 in the quarter, while the Las Vegas defense held Mabrey scoreless in the second. Chicago went 5 for 17 in the period and missed all 4 of their 3-pointers, while Las Vegas made 9 of 16 shots.
Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 72, Chicago 63)
Chicago scored the first 7 points of the period to tie the score at 46, and went back up by 1, 51-50, on a Kamilla Cardoso hook shot with 6:26 remaining in the third. The Aces countered by scoring 8 of the next 10, eventually pushing their lead to as many as 11. Young scored a game-high 12 points in the quarter as the Aces made 50.0 percent of their field goal attempts. Carter paced the Sky with 8 points.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 95, Chicago 83)
Plum scored the first 7 points of the period as Las Vegas extended its lead to 16, 79-63. The Aces eventually pushed their lead out to as many as 18 with 6:50 remaining. Chicago sliced the Las Vegas advantage to 10 with 4:08 on the clock, but never got any closer. Plum scored 16 points in the fourth to lead all scorers, while Reese added 9 to pace Chicago.
KEY STATS
It has been 1,567 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 527 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States, up from 515 at the start of the 2024 WNBA season.
The Aces shot 50% from the field (33 of 66) and 36% from 3-point range (9 of 25) while Chicago finished shooting 43.6% overall (34 of 78) and 26.7% from distance (4 of 15).
The Aces made 20 of 27 from the line and the Sky made 11 of their 14 attempts.
The Sky outscored the Aces 11-6 on second-chance points.
The Aces committed 9 turnovers which Chicago flipped into 12 points, while the Sky made 7 turnovers which Las Vegas turned into 5 points.
The Sky edged the Aces 38-35 on the glass, including 10-6 on the offensive boards.
The Aces defense tallied a season-high 11 blocked shots to the Sky’s 3.
GAME NOTES
Wilson has scored at least 20 points in 20 straight regular season games which extended her WNBA record.
Plum made 3 3-pointers, and now has 424 for her career, which is the second-most in franchise history (Becky Hammon, 498).
Plum extended her streak of consecutive games with at least 2 made 3-pointers to 17, tying Sophie Cunningham for 3rd place on the list. Rhyne Howard owns the WNBA record with 24 straight games with at least 2 made 3s.
Wilson grabbed 6 rebounds to move past Camille Little into 36th place on the WNBA’s career rebound list with 1,805. She trails Sophia Young-Malcolm (1,807) by 2 rebounds in 35th place. Young-Malcolm is also the Aces career rebound leader.
Wilson had 2 blocked shots and now has 379 for her career—the 15th most in WNBA history. Tamika Catchings is 14th on the list with 385, and Tina Charles is 13th with 394.
Kiah Stokes blocked a season-high 6 shots, 2 off of her career high of 8.
Chelsea Gray handed out 5 assists, and now has 1,512 for her career—the 9th most in WNBA history. Cappie Pondexter is 8th on the list with 1,578.
The Aces were without the services of Kierstan Bell (lower right leg injury).
Angel Reese extended her rookie record of consecutive games with a double-double to 10.
NEXT UP
Las Vegas remains on the road Saturday, for an 11:00 am PT tip against the Washington Mystics (4-13). The game is being broadcast locally on the Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network.
