Dallas— Las Vegas and Dallas came into this game off of losses and both teams wanted a key win in the standings and also the Commissioner’s cup. Las Vegas started early with two assists from Kelsey Plum to A’ja Wilson and Kelsey taking it to the cup with a layup and free throw off of the foul for an early 7-2 lead in the first. With Wilson scoring the next four points, the Wings called a quick timeout after being down, 11-2 with six minutes left in the quarter.
Las Vegas stretched it out to a 22-6 lead before Teaira McCowan hit her first three-pointer of her career to make it 22-9 with 2:20 to go in the first quarter. Arike Ogunbowale finally got on the board at free throw line for Dallas to make the score, 29-16 Las Vegas after one. A’ja Wilson tallied 14 points, three rebounds and two steals in the first period.
In the second, the Aces started with a 6-0 run to push their lead to 35-16 before McCowan hit a free throw pull within 35-17. Dallas then went on a 12-4 run, led by Ogunbowale’s back-to-back threes to make the score, 39-29 with six minutes left in the half. The game went back-and forth with three point shots from Maddy Siegriest from Dallas and Wilson from Las Vegas to make the score 47-42 Las Vegas at the half. Ogunbowale had 16 points in the second quarter as she got her shot going from outside.
In the third, A’ja scored on a layup and then a pull-up jumper to give the Aces a 53-45 lead with 6:36 to go in the quarter. Dallas then responded with a 7-2 run before the Aces’ Jackie Young hit two three-pointers in a row to make the score 63-52 in favor of Vegas with 3:13 to go in the period. Dallas then went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 63-59 with two minutes left in the third before Las Vegas went on a 12-2 run to give the Aces a 75-61 lead, heading into the fourth.
In the final period, Las Vegas opened up with another three-pointer and extended their lead to 78-61– which forced Dallas to call a timeout early on the stanza. Dallas fought and clawed all game, but the Aces were just too much offensively as they took the win, 95-81. Arike Ogunbowale ended up with 31 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals on the night for the Wings while A’ja Wilson led the way with 34 points, 14 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 blocks for the Aces.
