A’ja Wilson scored 14 of her game-high 36 points in the first quarter Wednesday night as the visiting Las Vegas Aces dumped the Dallas Wings 95-81 in the teams’ first clash since last year’s WNBA playoffs.
Wilson added 12 rebounds and six steals, making her the first player in WNBA history to register 35-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus steals in a game.
Wilson hit 15 of 22 shots from the field as Las Vegas (5-2) built an 18-point first quarter lead and led throughout, disappointing a large crowd hoping that Dallas (3-5) could avenge a 3-0 series sweep in the league semifinals.
The Aces’ Kelsey Plum put up 20 points. Jackie Young contributed 19 points and seven assists, and Tiffany Hayes came off the bench to hit for 11 points in her first game of the year after being signed last week.
Arike Ogunbowale fired in 31 points and dished out seven assists for the Wings but made just 9 of 23 attempts from the field. Teaira McCowan scored 14 points and hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds. Maddy Siegrist added 14 points and Monique Billings tallied 12.
But Dallas simply didn’t have enough to hold back a team that seemed motivated after a 78-74 loss Friday night in Atlanta. The Aces hit nearly 49 percent from the field and held the Wings to 37.8 percent, including 5 of 25 on 3-pointers.
Las Vegas established its intentions early. Wilson got it off to an 11-2 start with eight points in less than three minutes. The margin hit double figures less than four minutes in, and it was 29-16 after a quarter.
Dallas found its footing in the second quarter behind Ogunbowale, who scored 14 points, including consecutive 3-pointers that started a 19-8 run to end the half. Her foul shots with 21.7 seconds left got the Wings within 47-42 at the break.
The margin was still five when Ogunbowale hit a 3-pointer with 4:35 remaining in the third. But Young countered with a 3-pointer to begin an 18-9 burst that Wilson capped with a fadeaway to make it 75-61 after three.
–Field Level Media
