Aces star A’ja Wilson has milestone inside attain vs. Sun

Las Vegas center A’ja Wilson is approaching another milestone, something that could be attained with another big outing Sunday.

The Aces are home against the Connecticut Sun in a battle between two of the top teams in the WNBA.

The Sun enter the game third in the league’s overall standings, while the two-time defending champion Aces are fourth.

Wilson, who is scoring a league-best 27.0 points per game, has compiled a WNBA single-season record 971 points and is within range of reaching the 1,000-point mark with three regular-season games remaining. Wilson had 912 points last year.

She also leads the league with 2.7 blocks per game and her 12.1 rebound average is second to Chicago’s injured rookie Angel Reese (13.1).

The Aces (24-13) prevailed 78-74 for their second victory in a row on Friday night at Indiana, as Chelsea Gray poured in 21 points. Wilson produced a 15-point, 17-rebound effort for Las Vegas.

“I’ve been feeling like myself after Olympic break,” Gray said. “That’s the time we want to be playing your best basketball in September.

“I just trusted in myself.”

Gray made 7 of 11 shots from the field, hitting a pair of 3-pointers. It was her largest point total since late June.

“It’s nice to see Chelsea be super-efficient out there, hit big shots,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said.

The Sun (27-10) won 88-69 on Friday at Phoenix to push their winning streak to three games as Brionna Jones tallied 20 points.

“We shared the basketball and got another big win on the road,” Sun coach Stephanie White said.

The Aces are aware that Connecticut has won each of its last four road games.

“We’ve got Connecticut and they’re really tough,” Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum said. “We have a tough remaining schedule. To me, our focus is on the next game.”

Hammon would like to see the Aces in a better flow offensively, but at least they have defense to fall back on.

“The defense is coming along,” Hammon said. “It’s going to give us a chance.”

Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey drained three 3-pointers Friday night, making 11 shots from beyond the arc in the last three games combined.

“Once they collapse on (Mabrey), we’re open and we just have to spot-up and be confident in our shot,” Jones said.

The Aces defeated Connecticut 85-74 on June 21. That result began a stretch in which the Sun went 11-9, with Las Vegas also winning 72-67 on Sept. 6 at Connecticut. The Sun have won their three outings since then.

Connecticut will conclude a four-game road stretch Sunday with a game that’s also the team’s regular-season road finale.

–Field Level Media