The Las Vegas Aces have found their stride and will look to build on a six-game winning streak when they travel to play the Dallas Wings on Monday in a Commissioner’s Cup game at Arlington, Texas.
The Wings were the most recent team to defeat the Aces, producing a 95-87 victory at home on May 28. Since then, the Aces are 6-0 and the Wings have gone 3-2.
Las Vegas (10-3, 5-0 Commissioner’s Cup) is the only team in the Western Conference without a loss in the WNBA’s in-season tournament and is coming off a 100-97 home win over the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday. A’ja Wilson made the go-ahead free throw with 20.5 seconds remaining as a part of a 24-point, 10-rebound performance.
Chelsea Gray added 23 points and drained six 3-pointers, Jackie Young racked up 16 points with 10 assists and NaLyssa Smith tallied 15 points.
“I don’t know if there’s a better trio,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon said about Wilson, Young and Gray. “They’ve got a lot of experience with each other. They know each other’s games inside and out. They know our system inside and out, so they’re a handful, especially when they’re shooting and sharing it like they do.”
Las Vegas has reached 100 points in three consecutive games and five times this season.
The Wings (8-5, 3-2) return home after an 84-83 loss at Portland on Saturday as Arike Ogunbowale scored 22 points. Rookie Azzi Fudd scored 18 points, Aziaha James had 17 and Jessica Shepard added 13 points and 14 rebounds.
The Wings played without leading scorer Paige Bueckers, who sat out with a right ankle injury that leaves her questionable for Monday.
Despite Bueckers’ absence, Dallas led 83-80 after a Fudd three-point play in the final seconds. A missed jumper by James, a late free throw by the Fire and Ogunbowale’s missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer doomed the Wings.
“We kind of hurt ourselves early on and they got too comfortable,” Ogunbowale said. “We needed more stops, for sure.”
Bueckers rolled her ankle in the second quarter of Dallas’ win over Phoenix on Thursday.
“Trust me, she wanted to be on the floor,” Wings head coach Jose Fernandez said. “But the best thing for her longevity, her career, and the franchise is making sure we take care of her and that she takes care of her body.”
–Field Level Media
