After losing by 34 points in their previous game, the Las Vegas Aces returned to form in a 109-83 road win over the Toronto Tempo on Monday.
Veteran stars A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young scored 26 and 24 points, respectively, to power the Aces’ highest-scoring game of the season on a 45-of-78 shooting night (57.7%).
Wilson shot 11-for-14 from the field, and the four-time MVP added six rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Young was 10-for-17 shooting and contributed 12 assists to make it a double-double.
Las Vegas (18-7) never trailed after a 12-4 run to end the first period. The Aces shot 61% in the first half and built a 60-44 halftime edge before pushing the advantage as far as 28 points after intermission.
Wilson scored 19 of her points before halftime, and her bucket and foul shot with 24.7 seconds left in the second quarter gave Las Vegas its 16-point cushion.
NaLyssa Smith shot 9-for-10 en route to 18 points and five boards and Chelsea Gray tallied 14 points and seven assists. Jewell Loyd added 11 more points off the bench.
The Tempo struggled without head coach Sandy Brondello, who was suspended by the WNBA for the game due to inappropriate comments made about Atlanta forward Angel Reese. Brondello apologized for her remark and the Tempo were led for the evening by associate head coach Olaf Lange.
Toronto (10-16) has now lost seven of its last eight games. Isabelle Harrison matched Wilson with 26 points on 8-for-11 shooting and added 11 rebounds.
High-scoring guard Marina Mabrey had averaged 21.3 points per game coming in, good for third in the league among qualified players, but shot 5-for-21 Monday for 14 points. Maria Conde added 15 points and eight boards for the Tempo.
Reserve Nyara Sabally missed the game with a rib injury after scoring 16 points in Toronto’s previous game.
–Field Level Media
