After celebrating an A’ja Wilson milestone on Wednesday, the Las Vegas Aces will try for a victory over the visiting Washington Mystics on Thursday night.
Wilson made WNBA history in the Aces’ 85-59 victory over the visiting Connecticut Sun with a 22-point performance that included her 5,000th career point. Wilson became the fastest to reach the 5,000 plateau, doing it in her 238th game, which was four games faster than Breanna Stewart.
Wilson, 28, also is the fastest and youngest player to reach 5,000 points with 2,000 rebounds, 500 assists, 400 blocked shots and 200 steals.
“It’s a blessing,” Wilson said on the NBA Network broadcast. “I have tried my hardest to give the game everything.”
And yet Wilson was just as ecstatic about the Las Vegas defense, which allowed a season low in points while holding the Sun to 32.4-percent shooting from the floor. The Aces (7-7) forced five turnovers in the first five minutes and held a 19-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
“First we have to get some rest, then we have to continue to focus on the defensive end,” Wilson said. “We have a good Mystics team coming in. They’re running and gunning and playing really well.”
Washington (7-8) indeed is playing its best basketball of the season, matching a season high with two consecutive victories. The most recent of those was an impressive 68-64 win Tuesday over the Minnesota Lynx, who entered the game with a WNBA-best 12-1 record.
Shakira Austin scored 19 points for Washington, including two in a 6-0 run to close the game. The Lynx, who were playing without Napheesa Collier, were 0-for-2 from the floor with a turnover in the final 29.1 seconds.
Austin was 7-for-18 from the field with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“She’s always been a talented individual player, but now you’re seeing her really embrace being a teammate, wanting to grow, wanting to connect,” Washington coach Sydney Johnson said of Austin. “She’s seeing the value in passing, in being part of what we’re building. That shows up in how she handles double teams, how she picks up teammates, talks to them on the bench.”
Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen collected 11 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season, while Sug Sutton scored 12 points.
Mystics leading scorer Brittney Sykes, who is averaging 19.6 points per game, missed Tuesday’s game with a lower leg injury.
–Field Level Media
