A'ja Wilson drops 28 to become Las Vegas Aces' all-time leading scorer in victory over Dallas Wings

Jul 8, 2024, 01:42 pm

LAS VEGAS -- — A'ja Wilson scored 28 points and became the franchise's all-time leading scorer Sunday as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Dallas Wings 104-85.

Wilson also grabbed 10 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season. She made 11 of 22 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. The No. 1 overall selection in the 2018 WNBA draft has 4,301 career points and moved past Sophia Young-Malcolm (4,300). She was in attendance, along with Aces owner Mark Davis and several former players.

“I have to always give it to the ones that laid the foundation before me,” Wilson said. “The ones that grinded it out. The ones that had to do extra just to get seen a little bit to now we’re playing on national TV and charter flights. Thank you for passing that torch. We’re going to keep passing it and planting the seeds for the next generation.”

Kelsey Plum added 23 points, Jackie Young scored 18 and Chelsea Gray 12 for the Aces.

Wilson and Plum had 13 points apiece on combined 10-of-18 shooting in the first half and scored the Aces’ final 11 points for a 51-48 halftime lead.

Plum was fouled as she made a driving layup and hit the and-1 free throw to close the second quarter. Wilson hit a jumper and a 3 to open the second half and Alysha Clark made a 3-pointer with 8:31 left in the third quarter to cap a 9-0 run for a 60-48 lead.

Dallas trimmed its deficit to eight points on two occasions early in the fourth quarter — both after baskets by Odyssey Sims — but got no closer.

Sims led the Wings (5-17) with 25 points, her most in a WNBA game since she scored 26 for the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 17, 2021. Natasha Howard added 14 points and Arike Ogunbowale scored 13.

Sims — who made 28 appearances for the Wings last season, her second with the club — signed to a salary-cap hardship contract on June 25 due to injuries to Satou Sabally, Natasha Howard, and Maddy Siegrist. The 31-year-old scored 18 points in her first game back and helped end the Wings’ 11-game losing streak with a 94-88 win over the Minnesota Lynx.

Las Vegas (13-7), which had a six-game win streak snapped Friday night with a 98-93 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night, set a season high for points in a game and topped the 100-point plateau for the second time this season.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball