A’ja Wilson had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Las Vegas Aces to an 85-71 win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night in game 2 of the WNBA final.
The Aces are now one win away from the franchise’s first championship with Game 3 on Thursday in Connecticut. Las Vegas was caught up in the 2008 Finals while the team was still in San Antonio. The Aces were also wiped out in 2020.
Chelsea Gray added 21 for the Aces while Kelsey Plum recovered from a bad Game 1 to score 20 points.
After being held to the lowest 67 points of the season in game 1, the Aces found their offensive power reaching 33/64 (51.6%) from the floor.
Connecticut, who finished 27th out of 64 (42.2%) off the field, had four players in double figures, led by Courtney Williams with 18.
Jonquel Jones also had a brace with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Alyssa Thomas finished with 13 points.
Looking to set up an early attack, both teams sped up, trading skewed with a 10-10 draw until the Aces picked up momentum and used 11-4 to open their advantage. seven points. Las Vegas hit 55% (10 out of 18) of floor prices in the first quarter while Sun struggled to hit 35%, scoring only 7 out of 20.
The Aces continued to pressurize offensively into the second inning, led by Plum, who contributed 11 in the quarter.
Connecticut was down 14 points as coach Curt Miller bolstered his roster, and The Sun responded with a 12-4 run to cut their deficit to six before a Wilson bucket gave the Aces the lead. 45-37 during halftime.
But Las Vegas’ offensive balance continued into the third inning, with five different scorers helping the Aces push their lead to 14, overtaking Connecticut 23-17, leading 68-54 in the final inning.
LEARN PHYSICS
The third half saw both teams with bumps and bruises. Gray Lobster and Natisha Hiedeman left the match with a sprained ankle early in the third round. Gray went back to the dressing room, but then returned. Jackie Young has a cracked lip. Williams left late in the third half with what appeared to be a shin injury. Hiedeman and Williams return to start the fourth quarter. Children return early in the last period.
FACE ANTI-WALL
Connecticut is leading 3-0 in knockout games in the knockout stages so far this season.
