A’JA WILSON POURS IN 34 POINTS AS ACES DOWN SPARKS
A’ja Wilson scored 17 of her game-high 34 points in the first quarter, Jackie Young delivered her first career triple-double and the visiting Las Vegas Aces used a fast start to overwhelm the Los Angeles Sparks 89-74 on Tuesday.
Young compiled 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, while Dana Evans added 10 points as the Aces (14-13) won for the fifth time in the past seven games.
Wilson shot 8-for-8 from the floor in the opening quarter as Las Vegas took a 31-18 lead, and the visitors were never threatened the rest of the way. The reigning MVP had 10 rebounds on the night while recording her fifth game of at least 30 points this season and second against Los Angeles.
Kelsey Plum produced 22 points and eight assists and Rae Burrell added a season-high 17 points as the Sparks (11-15) saw their season-high five-game win streak come to an end. Dearica Hamby scored 15 points for Los Angeles.
Sparks forward Cameron Brink came off the bench to score five points during her first game of the season after missing 13 months due to a torn ACL that required surgery. She played 14 minutes.
The Sparks committed 20 turnovers in the game, and the Aces turned them into 19 points.
Las Vegas not only shot 56.5 percent from the floor in the first quarter, but it hit 48.8 percent in the first half while taking a 48-34 lead into the break. Wilson made her first 10 shots in the game, finally missing from the floor midway through the second quarter.
Wilson had 23 points at halftime to pass her season average of 21.6 points per game.
Las Vegas led 70-53 after three quarters and took its first 20-point lead when Aaliyah Nye made a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth.
The Aces are now 2-1 against the Sparks with the teams set to meet one more time on Sept. 11 in the regular-season finale for both clubs.
VALKYRIES’ CECILIA ZANDALASINI DRILLS LATE JUMPER TO DENY DREAM
Cecilia Zandalasini connected on a mid-range jumper with 3.9 seconds left to propel the visiting Golden State Valkyries to a 77-75 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday in College Park, Ga.
Zandalasini led Golden State (12-13) with 18 points and eight rebounds while Tiffany Hayes followed with 15 points and five assists. Carla Leite chipped in 12 points for Golden State, which rebounded from a season-worst 31-point loss to the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. Veronica Burton added 10 points for the Valkyries.
Jordin Canada paced Atlanta (15-11) with 21 points and eight assists, followed by Naz Hillmon’s 14 points and eight boards. Allisha Gray was limited to 12 points on 2-for-11 shooting for the Dream, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Trailing by six with less than five minutes left, Atlanta took the lead with an 8-0 run. Canada’s three-point play with 3:08 remaining gave the Dream a 75-73 lead.
Zandalasini answered with a game-tying layup at the 2:47 mark, then the Dream missed four shots and committed two turnovers leading up to Zandalasini’s game-winner. Brittney Griner’s mid-range jumper clanked off the front rim at the buzzer for Atlanta.
After the score was tied at 39 at halftime, neither team took a lead larger than three until a 9-0 Golden State run gave the Valkyries a 57-50 advantage with 3:33 left in the third.
Following an Atlanta timeout, Burton knocked down a 3-pointer to push Golden State’s lead to 60-50.
Reserve Kate Martin connected on her first 3-point attempt to give the Valkyries their largest lead at 67-55, then Laeticia Amihere added a layup just before the buzzer as Golden State took a 69-56 advantage into the fourth.
The Dream scored the first eight points of the final quarter to pull within five. Leite’s jumper stopped the bleeding and gave the Valkyries a 71-64 lead at the 7:17 mark.
After Atlanta jumped out to a 9-4 lead, Golden State answered with 11 straight points capped by Leite’s 3-pointer that gave the Valkyries a six-point edge with 2:38 left in the first quarter. Golden State took a 20-16 lead into the second.
From there, a 7-3 Atlanta spurt stamped with Canada’s 3-pointer knotted the score at 27.
Maya Caldwell’s triple gave Atlanta a 38-35 advantage before Hayes’ layup with four seconds left made it a 39-39 halftime score.
MYSTICS ROOKIES SHINE IN CONVINCING WIN OVER SKY
Rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen combined for 50 points Tuesday night in a 103-86 home win for the Washington Mystics over the Chicago Sky.
Both players scored career bests, as Citron tallied 28 points and Iriafen notched 22.
They became the first pair of rookies to score at least 20 points in the same game in Washington (13-13) franchise history.
Veteran Brittney Sykes added 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, surging back after an 0-of-6 performance and zero points in Washington’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.
A third-quarter surge for the Mystics was too much for the Sky (7-19) to handle. The Sky dropped their sixth game in a row.
Led by 10 points in the quarter by Sykes, the Washington defense stifled Chicago shooting and a 12-point run pushed the Mystics’ lead to 17 points. During that surge, the Sky’s Angel Reese picked up her fifth foul after an incidental hit to the face of Emily Engstler that Reese demanded be reviewed, and the subsequent second look by the referees failed to overturn the call.
Chicago scored the final eight points of the quarter to make it an 11-point game, but could not hold on in the fourth quarter as the home side outscored the Sky 23-17 to round out the victory.
Washington veteran Sug Sutton left the game with an injury with 4:09 remaining in the fourth quarter when the guard’s leg collided with the leg of Reese as Chicago ran back on defense. After a lengthy injury timeout, Sutton left the game putting pressure on her leg as the training staff helped her get back to the locker room.
Chicago’s duo of second-year stars led their effort. Reese, who returned after missing the last four games with a back injury, posted her 11th double-double in a row with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Kamilla Cardoso scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds.
Dating back to last season, the win for the Mystics was their fifth in a row over the Sky. The two teams will meet one more time this season on Aug. 5 in Chicago.
