LAS VEGAS (Sept. 15, 2024)—Led by M’VP front-runner A’ja Wilson‘s 29 points, the Las Vegas Aces (25-13) stormed out of the locker room at halfime and ran away with an 84-71 victory over the Connecticut Sun (27-11) Sunday. An Aces Michelob ULTRA Arena record 10,431 fans watched as Wilson’s 29 points gave her exactly 1’000 for the year, as she became her the first player in WNBA history to reach that plateau in a single season.
Kelsey Plum added 14 points and Jackie Young scored 13, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
The Aces win, coupled with Seattle’s victory over Los Angeles this afternoon, means that the final battle for the 3, 4 and 5 seeds is as muddled as ever.
| W | L | GB | Home | Road | |
| Connecticut (3) | 27 | 11 | 4.0 | 9/17 vs. MIN, 9/19 vs/ CHI | |
| Las Vegas (4) |
25 | 13 | 6.0 | 9/19 vs. DAL | 9/17 at SEA |
| Seattle (5) | 24 | 14 | 7.0 | 9/17 vs/ LVA | 9/19 at PHO |
Las Vegas can still catch the Sun for the No. 3 seed, but they need to win out, and have Connecticut lose its 2 remaining games.
The 4 and 5 seeds could come down to Tuesday’s meeting between the Aces and Storm in the Emerald City. A Las Vegas win clinches the 4 seed for the Aces, but a Seattle victory could send the teams down a tiebreaker rabbit hole.
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 29, Connecticut 25)
The Sun held an early 2-point lead, 5-3, but a Young 3-pointer put the Aces on top. Las Vegas led the rest of the quarter, leading by as many as 7. Both teams shot better than 50% from the field, with the Aces at 57.1% and the Sun at 52.6%. Wilson scored a high of 10 points and Brionna Jones put up 8 for Connecticut.
Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 48, Connecticut 40)
The teams swapped scores through most of the second quarter and the Aces were up 37-32 with 3:32 to go before the midway break. A 7-0 run by the Sun gave them a 39-37 edge at 2:57. However, a Plum 3-pointer put the Aces back on top and kick-started an 11-1 run to close out the half, during which the Sun missed all 4 of their field goal attempts. The Aces made 50% of their field goal attempts, including 2 of 4 from afar, and the Sun were held to just 26.7% shooting from the field, 1 of 4 from 3-point range. Plum scored a high of 9 points in the quarter and DiJonai Carrington tallied 6 for the Sun.
Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 71, Connecticut 51)
Holding a 56-47 lead midway through the period, the Aces scored the game’s next 10 points and the Sun never recovered. Connecting on 62.5% of their shots to their opponents’ 25%, the Aces outscored the Sun 23-11 in the quarter. Wilson netted 14 to bring her career total to 996 points. Jones led the Sun with 5.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 84, Connecticut 71)
Wilson scored her 1’000th point on a 12-foot jumper, assisted by Young with 1:57 to play in the game, to bring the score to 84-68.
KEY STATS
It has been 1,647 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered. In 2022, three officers were federally charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and civil rights violations. One of the officers later pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the case. A second officer went to trial on October 30, 2023, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. Charges were refiled, and the new trial is scheduled for October 14, 2024.
The ACLU is currently tracking 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States, up from 515 at the start of the 2024 WNBA season.
In order to register online to vote in Nevada, eligible voters must do so 5 days before Election Day. The next presidential election is on November 5, 2024. Registration by mail must be postmarked 28 days before Election Day. In person registration is available up to and including on Election Day. For additional information, please visit the Nevada Secretary of State website. For information on how to register and where to vote in your state, please visit usa.gov.
The Aces shot 35 of 71 from the field (.493) and 10 of 24 from 3-point range (.417), while the Sun made 27 of 64 (.422) overall and 6 of 19 (.316) from distance.
Connecticut made 11 of 17 free throws while Las Vegas went 4 of 6.
The Aces outscored Connecticut 38-30 in the paint and 7-4 on the fast break.
Each team gave up 6 points off turnovers, with the Aces coughing it up just 7 times and the Sun had 10 miscues.
The Aces dished out 24 assists on 35 field goals, while Connecticut had 20 assists on 27 made field goals.
Marina Mabrey scoredall of the Sun’s 18 bench points, outscoring the Aces reserves’ 16 points.
GAME NOTES
A’ja Wilson Section (29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots, 0 turnovers)
Wilson now has 1’000 points for the season, extending her WNBA single season record which she broke Wednesday evening, becoming the first player in league history to score 1,000 points in a season.
Wilson extended her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to 50 games—the longest active streak in the league, and is tied for the 11th longest in WNBA history. In extending her streak, Wilson becomes the first player in league history with multiple double-digit scoring streaks of 50 or more games.
Wilson now has 2,080 rebounds for her career which are the 29th most in WNBA history. Next up on the list is Chasity Melvin in 28th place with 2,117 boards.
Wilson now has 4,761 points for her career, moving her past Alana Beard and into 31st place on the WNBA career scoring list. Skylar Diggins Smith is next on the list with 4,791 points.
Wilson now has 444 rebounds for the year. She is 3 rebounds away from breaking the WNBA’s single-season record of 446 established by Angel Reese earlier this year.
Wilson now has 98 blocked shots for the year which are tied with Lisa Leslie (2004) for the 8th most in the history of the WNBA in a single season. Only 2 players have ever blocked 100 or more shots in a year—Brittney Grier (3 times) and Margo Dydek (4 times)
Wilson’s 2 blocks (0 steals) give her 165 “stocks” (steals plus blocks) for the year, extending her WNBA single season record.
Rest of the Team Section
Gray handed out 3 assists to give her 1,626 for her career—the 8th most in WNBA history. Candace Parker is 7th on the list with 1,634 dimes.
Hayes scored 6 points to give her 4,592 for her career, moving her closer to Penny Taylor in 35th place on the list with 4,606.
Kelsey Plum’s 2 made 3-pointers give her 105 on the season. A total of 5 players in WNBA history now have 100 or more made 3-pointers in multiple seasons—Diana Taurasi (2006, 2018), Kelsey Mitchell (2023, 2024), Arike Ogunbowale (2023, 2024) and Sabrina Ionescu (2023, 2024). Plum also hit the mark in 2022 when she connected on 113 made 3s.
NEXT UP
The Aces travel to Seattle Tuesday for a 7 pm PT tip against the Storm. The game is being televised locally on the Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network.