Jewell Loyd drilled a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left Friday night as the Las Vegas Aces pulled off a 75-72 win over the visiting Washington Mystics.
Trailing 72-66 with 1:15 remaining after Jade Melbourne made a free throw, Las Vegas (2-1) scored the last nine points. Jackie Young scored six straight points, including a layup with 11.6 seconds on the clock to tie the game.
Kiah Stokes blocked Melbourne’s layup for the lead and Loyd converted the game-winner via A’ja Wilson’s pass to cap the Aces’ home opener.
Young scored a game-high 25 points for Las Vegas, while Chelsea Gray added 17. Wilson finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. The Aces won despite hitting only 34.8 percent of their field goal attempts.
Sonia Citron scored 19 points for Washington (2-2), while rookie Kiki Iriafen added 17 points and 13 rebounds. Melbourne finished with 14 points and Sug Sutton kicked in 10.
The pregame storyline shifted dramatically about an hour before opening tip when Washington announced that Brittney Sykes would sit out with a leg injury. Sykes was coming off a 30-point game Wednesday night at Golden State and was averaging 26.3 points and 5.0 assists per game.
But the Mystics were able to make up for her absence with a team effort that featured balanced scoring and tough defense. They led nearly the entire first half, expanding the margin to 10 at one point and taking a 42-33 advantage to the break on Iriafen’s mid-range jumper with 0.5 seconds left.
Washington held Las Vegas without a point for the first 3:22 of the third quarter and eventually established a 54-42 cushion when Melbourne nailed a 3-pointer at the 3:47 mark.
The Mystics owned a 59-50 lead going to the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media
