Las Vegas heads into break with close road win over Dallas

Las Vegas forward A'ja Wilson points out a teammate during the team's road win over Dallas Wednesday night. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

Twenty-two games into an extended WNBA season and the Las Vegas Aces are right where they began: at .500.

Las Vegas edged Dallas, 90-86, Wednesday, July 16 from the College Park Center in Texas to earn back-to-back wins for just the third time this season. It was the team’s final showing ahead of this weekend’s WNBA All-Star Break.

Wednesday marked the second win for the Aces over the Wings this season, both have come by a final margin of four points.

“We wanted to go into the break on a good note,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “I thought we played three really good quarters. [The] wheels came off a little bit in the fourth.”

Las Vegas’ win counts as the team’s fifth in 12 road games to close the first half of this year’s WNBA campaign. In total, the team improved to 11-11 on the year while it hasn’t been over .500 since June 13.

With the all-star break up next, the team will look to rest as only two members of the team will be headed to Indiana for the festivities.

Aces forward A'ja Wilson warms up inside College Park Center with her sprained right wrist bandaged up. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

“Coming into all-star, it’s not much of a break,” forward A’ja Wilson said. “I’m excited that the fans can see us all together in one place.”

The Aces found themselves up two points with less than 30 seconds left in regulation after leading by as many as 22 points earlier in the second half. In hostile territory, the team used a 20-4 run in the third quarter to take a 20-plus point stranglehold on the WIngs.

“I mean, we had three turnovers in the first minute and 20 [seconds of the fourth quarter],” Hammon said. “That’s a good way to lose a lead which we almost did.”

Wilson scored 20 of her game-high 37 points in the first half in just her second game back since returning from a sprained right wrist.

She put the finishing touches on her eighth double-double of the season before finishing with a final stat line of 37 points on 15-of-25 from the floor to go along with 10 rebounds. She has now recorded a new season-high point total in back-to-back games.

“My mindset: Get wins,” she said. “By any means necessary, get wins. I don’t care what they look like, we’ve got to start stacking wins.”

The 37 points scored by Wilson ties the single-most in a WNBA game this season while recording the league’s fifth 30 and 10 double-double, with four belonging to the reigning MVP. In addition, she added her fifth career 35 and 10 game, which is the most in league history.

“She doesn’t really care about [acknowledgement],” Hammon said. “She cares about winning and the winning hasn’t come enough. She’d pretty much trade any of those numbers for more wins.”

Guard Jewell Loyd added 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting to finish as the second and final starter in double-figures.

Las Vegas rookie guard Aaliyah Nye pushes past Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale with a dribble drive. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces

Rookie guard Aaliyah Nye chipped in with 13 points off the bench including three of the team’s five made three-pointers. It’s the sixth time she’s reached double-figures scoring this season.

“She was great tonight,” Hammon said. “She just does a lot of little things. A lot of hustle plays – obviously she had her shot going tonight, we know she can do that.”

As a team, Las Vegas shot 48% from the field while compiling 23 team assists on the night. In the team’s first win over Dallas this season, it racked up 24 assists as a unit.

“I thought our bench was great,” Hammon said. “I thought [guard Dana] did well, Nye. [Forward Megan Gustafson] returning from injury – I think our whole bench was positive tonight. It takes everybody, I actually feel like our bench is deeper this year than it has been in years past.”