Las Vegas Aces throttle the Dallas Wings, 104-84

From the jump ball until the last whistle, the Las Vegas Aces commandeered the momentum in what had the potential to be an all-time blowout as they led by as much as 41, ultimately beating the Dallas Wings, 104-84.

After suffering just their third loss of the 2023 WNBA season this past Sunday while posting their lowest point total (61) against the New York Liberty, the Aces responded as boisterously as they always do after losing. Following two of the team’s three losses, the Aces own two 20+ point wins to their name. Talk about a bounce back, word to Big Sean.

To open the ball game, Las Vegas stormed out of the gates on a 16-0 run and turned on cruise control as Dallas never tied nor had a lead. Reigning MVP and DPOY recipient A’ja Wilson and point guard Chelsea Gray were instrumental in the first quarter, combining for 18 of the team’s 24 points. Of Gray’s 11 points, nine of them came via the three-point line.

“We didn’t look sharp at all,” head coach Latricia Trammell said about her team’s defensive effort.

In the first quarter alone, Las Vegas posted a 142.1 offensive rating on a 67.5 True Shooting clip.

At the half, Wilson had nine points on 4-of-12 shooting, yet the Aces scored 54 points. Coming out of the locker room and until the shot clock flashed double zeroes, Wilson didn't miss a single shot as she went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field for 19 points, finishing with a game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds.

Las Vegas boasted four other players in double figures as Kelsey Plum tallied 20 points and eight assists. Jackie Young had 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Gray finished with 16 points and Alysha Clark posted 11 points while missing one shot (4-for-5).

Satou Sabally led the way for the Wings with 21 points followed by Kalani Brown who finished with 16 points, her most since setting a career-high with 21 points on June 14, while also adding seven rebounds. Arike Ogunbowale was rather quiet with Young as her primary defender, managing to score 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the floor.

Natasha Howard contributed 10 points. After a quiet first half for Crystal Dangerfield, she posted all 11 of her points in the second half alongside two rebounds and three assists.

The Wings take on the Connecticut Sun at home on Saturday.