Las Vegas Aces Clinch Postseason Berth With Win Over LA Sparks Before Announced Crowd Of 7,522 Saturday
By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
The Las Vegas Aces clinched a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive season with an 84-66 win over the Los Angeles Sparks at Michelob Ultra Arena Saturday night.
Led by Kelsey Plum’s 29 points, the Aces covered the betting spread that opened at between -9 and -9.5 favorites at most books.
Las Vegas is now 20-8 and sit just behind WNBA defending champion Chicago Sky in the overall standings.
The first quarter went back-and-forth as the Aces jumped out to a 16-6 lead only to see Los Angeles counter with a 16-5 run to take a narrow lead after the first quarter.
At halftime, the Aces and Sparks were tied at 39.
The Aces led by four points after three quarters.
But then Las Vegas pulled away in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Sparks, 27-13, for the 84-66 win.
On her way to setting a franchise record of notching seven straight 20-point games, the Aces’ A’ja Wilson pushed the lead to double digits in the fourth quarter when Las Vegas extended the lead to as much as 20.
A decent crowd of 7,522 was announced for attendance.
With Wilson scoring 20 or more points for the seventh straight game, she broke the franchise record she shared with former franchise player and current Aces coach Becky Hammon.
Wilson is also averaging 2.1 steals and 2 blocks per game. When the regular season wraps, she’ll be back in the conversation for league MVP. Wilson pushed the Aces to a big fourth quarter helping Las Vegas outscore the Sparks, 29-11, at one point.
Alongside Wilson, Plum was largely instrumental in securing the much-needed win before the Aces head out for the start of a six-game road trip. In addition to her game-high 29 points, Plum was 9-14 from the field, including 4-8 from three-point land, while adding five rebounds.
Jackie Young chipped in with 11 points, while Chelsea Gray added another 10.
The Aces play next Tuesday at Chicago for the Commissioner’s Cup Championship. Tip at Wintrust Arena is 5:30PM Las Vegas time.
