A’ja Wilson scored 18 of her 24 points in the second half as the Las Vegas Aces executed in the fourth quarter and extended their winning streak over the visiting Indiana Fever to 16 games with an 89-81 victory on Sunday afternoon.
In her second game back from a concussion, Wilson finished with her third-highest point total this season and helped the Aces (6-7) stop a three-game losing streak. After shooting 2-of-13 in the first half, Wilson was 6-of-8 in the second half.
Jackie Young added nine of her 19 points in the fourth when the Aces outscored the Fever 31-20. Chelsea Gray contributed 18 as Las Vegas shot 45.1 percent and 90.5 percent (19-of-21) from the free throw line.
The Aces also earned the win by scoring 40 points in the paint and converting 18 Indiana turnovers into 28 points.
Aliyah Boston scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Indiana remained winless against the Aces since Aug. 27, 2019. Kelsey Mitchell added 20 and Caitlin Clark contributed 19 despite missing nine of 10 3-point tries.
The Fever (6-7) fell to 2-2 since Clark returned from a quad injury and took the loss despite shooting 48.6 percent. Indiana scored 52 points in the paint but was 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from behind the arc.
Indiana scored nine straight points in a span of 1:50 and Mitchell’s basket gave them a 37-28 lead with 4:09 left in the second. Boston capped her 18-point half with a layup for a 10-point lead and Indiana held a 42-36 lead by halftime.
Boston surpassed 20 points with another basket to put Indiana ahead 50-42 with 6:41 left in the third. Las Vegas ended the quarter with a 19-8 run and inched within 61-58 entering the fourth.
Vegas took its first lead since the opening minutes of the game when Aaliyah Nye sank a 3 over Clark for a 63-61 edge with 8:40 left. Gray’s 18-footer gave the Aces a six-point lead a little over two minutes later and Indiana forged a 69-69 tie with 5:03 left on Mitchell’s 3.
Following consecutive hoops by Wilson, Las Vegas extended the lead to 81-73 on an open 3 by Gray with 2:45 remaining. Wilson’s 3-point play pushed the lead to 84-75 with 1:46 remaining to essentially clinch it.
–Field Level Media
