– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
WASHINGTON — The Las Vegas Aces saw a historic streak from their star player come to an end, but, as a nice consolation, managed to continue their winning streak as a team continue on their way to finding their championship form once again.
Jackie Young scored 26 points while Chelsea Gray scored 13 of her 22 points in the second half as the Aces came from behind to defeat the Washington Mystics 88-77 inside Entertainment & Sports Arena on Saturday afternoon, Las Vegas’ fourth consecutive victory. A’ja Wilson only scored 11 points, snapping her WNBA-record streak of consecutive 20-point games at 20, though she did contribute nine rebounds and five assists.
After being down as much as 11 points late in the second quarter, the Aces cut that deficit to six by halftime on Young’s jumper right before the half. Young scored 19 of her points in the first half, making 6-of-8 from the field.
Gray and the Aces’ defense took over in the second half, holding Washington to 9-for-28 shooting (32 percent) in the game’s final 20 minutes. Gray scored nine third-quarter points, making both of her three-point attempts. Las Vegas turned the screws on defense even more in the fourth, holding the Mystics to just eight points in the frame and holding Washington without a point for the final 3:23.
Washington’s poor shooting in the second half contrasted to their hot shooting the first, as the Mystics made 10 of their 16 three-point attempts during that stretch. Stefanie Dolson, who led Washington with 23 points, made all five of her shots from the field going into halftime, with four of the baskets coming from beyond the arc.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Clifford Ray Williams 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 20 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
