Jewell Loyd drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 28.4 seconds left as part of a decisive 15-0 run as the Las Vegas Aces rallied for an 88-84 victory over the visiting Dallas Wings on Friday night.
Jackie Young had 28 points, three steals and made all 11 of her free-throw attempts to help the Aces (5-4) overcome a 13-point deficit. Loyd made five treys while scoring 21 points and Chelsea Gray had 13 points as Las Vegas won without star A’ja Wilson.
Arike Ogunbowale recorded 26 points and eight assists for the Wings (1-11), who lost their seventh straight game.
Paige Bueckers scored 16 points, DiJonai Carrington added 15 points and eight rebounds before fouling out and Luisa Geiselsoder had 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting for Dallas.
Wilson was placed in concussion protocol earlier Friday. She sustained a head injury during Wednesday’s 97-89 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Sparks.
Las Vegas was just 3 of 16 from the field in the final quarter but rode its comeback on 17-of-19 shooting from the free-throw line. Dallas was 2 of 2 from the line in the final period.
Geiselsoder’s basket with 3:55 remaining was the last field goal for Dallas and it left Las Vegas trailing 82-71.
But the Aces scored 17 of the final 19 points, including the stretch of 15 in a row. The first 10 came on free throws with Young hitting six, including two to pull the Aces within 82-81 with 1:11 to play.
Loyd drained the go-ahead 3-pointer to give Las Vegas a two-point edge. Gray made two free throws to make it 86-82 with 13.1 seconds to play.
Bueckers made two free throws with 8.1 seconds left for the Wings before Young made two more free throws with 6.6 seconds left to seal it.
The Aces were a sizzling 26 of 28 on free throws (92.9 percent), while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and were 10 of 29 from behind the arc.
The Wings made 47.1 percent of their shots and were 8 of 20 from behind the arc and 10 of 11 from the line.
Dallas trailed 49-40 at halftime before exploding at the outset of the third quarter with 18 straight points and 24 of 26.
Ogunbowale’s 3-pointer tied the score at 49 with 7:37 left in the third and Bueckers made a go-ahead jumper 61 seconds later.
Carrington capped the 18-0 portion with a 3-pointer to make it 58-49 with 5:12 left. Ogunbowale made two free throws to end the 24-2 burst and give the Wings a 13-point advantage with 2:53 remaining.
Dallas fell to 0-5 in Commissioner’s Cup play on the Western Conference side. Las Vegas is 2-2.
–Field Level Media
