The game between the Las Vegas Aces and the Minnesota Lynx was the highlight game for the slate on May 29th as Minnesota came into the game at 4-1 on the season and Las Vegas was 3-1, with this being their first road game of the season.
In the first quarter, both teams started with gritty play as Las Vegas led, 7-6 over the Lynx with 5:50 to go in the period. Napheesa Collier got off to a hot start for Minnesota with six points and eight rebounds in the first five minutes of the game! Iowa rookie, Caitlin Clark from Las Vegas, came off of the bench and played some good minutes including a three-pointer to give Vegas a 18-16 lead after one.
In the second period, Cecilia Zandalasini hit her third three of the game for the Lynx but Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson both made some key baskets to start the second and the Aces led, 28-23 with six minutes left in the quarter. The Lynx then went on a 8-2 run and held a 31-30 lead, heading into a tv timeout. After the intermission, the Aces went on a 13-3 run that was speared by Kelsey Plum— who scored five-straight in the stretch after not scoring for almost the entire first half. A 25-18 second quarter advantage for Las Vegas gave them a 43-34 lead at the half.
After the half, both teams put up a couple of buckets as the score was 47-39 with seven minutes to go in the third quarter. Napheesa scored her 14th point on a great assist from Courtney Williams and Minnesota cut the Aces lead to seven, 52-45 with four minutes left in the stanza. The Lynx then went on an 7-0 spurt to pull within two and trailed 56-54 with a minute left before Jackie Young made a free throw to extend the Aces lead to three points before Las Vegas scored the last five points of the quarter to go into the fourth with a 62-56 lead.
In the last period, the Aces went on an 10-2 run to take a 72-58 lead before Minnesota hit a three make the score 72-61 with 5:41 left in the game. Kelsey Plum then hit a three and A’Ja had another score inside the paint to make the score 77-61 with three minutes remaining in the contest. The Aces went on to close out the Lynx and get their fourth win of the season, 80-66. Napheesa Collier finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, while A’ja led the way for Las Vegas with 29 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.
