– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT — The Las Vegas’ Aces All-Star backcourt of Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd had, almost inarguably, their worst game as a tandem this season on Sunday afternoon. But befitting of a team that, when healthy, has an embarrassment of riches, the Aces can lean on their All-Star frontcourt as well, and A’ja Wilson and company had no trouble in carrying the load as the Las Vegas continues to claw its way back up the standings after an indifferent start to the season.
Wilson led all scorers with 19 points while also blocking four shots as the Aces never trailed during their 86-69 victory over the Connecticut Sun inside Mogehan Sun Arena. Jackie Young had 14 points and six assists while center NaLyssa Smith chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds in her second game for Las Vegas after being recently acquired from Dallas.
The frontcourt trio combined to go 18-for-27 (67 percent) from the field, with Wilson making eight of her 10 shots from the floor, making up for Gray and Loyd combining to make just three of their 14 shot attempts in the game. Wilson scored eight of her team’s 16 first-quarter points, making all four shots from the field, to stake the Aces to a four-point lead, 16-12.
Las Vegas’ offense went into top gear in the middle quarters, scoring 27 points in both the second and third stanzas to put the game out of reach. Connecticut tied the game at 16 on a Tina Charles layup before the Aces went on a 22-7 run. Young had seven points and three assists during that stretch of play.
Both Sun starters who scored in double figures were rookies, as Aneesah Morrow led Connecticut with 12 points while Saniya Rivers chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. Charles had 11 points coming off the bench.
Another rookie, Leïla Lacan, made her Connecticut Sun debut on Sunday. The French international and 10th overall pick of this year’s WNBA Drafts cored 5 points in just under 24 minutes of action.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST photo editor Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 31 pictures in total.
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