MVP candidate A’ja Wilson shot 8-of-10 from the field and finished with a game-high 19 points and four blocks as the Las Vegas Aces posted an 86-68 wire-to-wire win over the host Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Wilson’s effort was one of four in double figures for the Aces (9-9), who are 2-1 on their five-game road swing.
Dana Evans shined off the bench, scoring 18 points, while Jackie Young finished with 14 points and six assists and Nalyssa Smith recorded a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds).
Aneesah Morrow scored 12 to lead the Sun (2-16), who dropped their 10th in a row. Tina Charles scored 11 and Saniya Rivers chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds for Connecticut, which hasn’t won since June 6.
France native Leila Lacan made her WNBA debut for Connecticut. The 10th overall pick of the 2024 draft recorded five points and an assist in 24 minutes.
Las Vegas rolled to an 85-59 win over Connecticut on June 25 and scored the first six points against the Sun this time around.
Lacan hit two free throws for her first points with 3:42 left in the first, cutting the Connecticut deficit to 12-9.
Las Vegas led 16-12 after one but Connecticut tied the game at 16-16 with 8:51 remaining in the half when Charles scored inside off a layup.
Evans answered with a layup of her own at the 8:34 mark. Her bucket was the start of a 13-2 run where the Aces pushed their advantage to double digits at 29-18 on Young’s layup and free throw with 5:29 to play.
Jacy Sheldon made the first 3-pointer for the Sun after an 0-for-7 start for the team from beyond the arc, cutting the Las Vegas lead to 32-23, but Connecticut was never able to string anything together and trailed 43-28 at halftime.
The Aces dominated in the paint in the first half, outscoring the Sun 28-14.
Chelsea Gray found Wilson inside for a layup at the 7:28 mark of the third to move into sixth all-time in assists (1,709) in league history, passing her coach, Becky Hammon, on the list.
Wilson was fouled on the play and made her free throw as the Aces went ahead 48-32. Las Vegas led 70-50 going to the fourth after Evans scored off a layup with 21 seconds to go.
The Aces improved to 3-0 this season against the Sun, winning by an average of 23 points.
–Field Level Media
