A’ja Wilson exploded for 42 points against the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, but it was in a losing cause as the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces went down 93-90.
The victory, played in front of a sell-out crowd at College Park Center, stopped the Wings’ seven-game losing streak against the Aces thanks to a 32-point fourth quarter.
Satou Sabally led the way for the Wings and ended the game with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Natasha Howard and Arike Ogunbowale had 24 and 20 points respectively.
Wilson, a strong candidate to be named MVP this season, went 16-of-22 from the field as she tallied the third 40-point game of her career, but the Aces still slipped to a fifth defeat in seven games and 18-12 on the season.
“We didn’t defend, we fouled and we didn’t rebound,” said coach Becky Hammon, per ESPN. “And we shot the three terrible again … It can get a lot better, clearly, but it’s the attention to detail.”
Aiming to be the first WNBA team in 24 years to three-peat, the Aces are currently fifth in the standings and have struggled since the WNBA resumed following the Paris Olympics.
Against the Wings, Las Vegas held a 42-37 lead after the first half, with Wilson scoring 17 points, and the gap between the two teams had grown to eight by the end of the third quarter.
However, Dallas came back strongly in the fourth and took the lead through Sabally’s three-pointer with 3:59 left on the clock.
As the game headed for a tight conclusion, Ogunbowale made two free throws to put the Wings ahead 91-90 with 35 seconds remaining, before two more free throws from Sabally closed out the win.
After defeating the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, the Wings have now secured consecutive victories for the first time since May. They next play the Minnesota Lynx on Friday, while the Aces face the Atlanta Dream.