LAS VEGAS -- A’ja Wilson led the Las Vegas Aces with 22 points, adding five rebounds and four blocks in a 94-83 loss to the Washington Mystics on Thursday night.
Washington’s Sug Sutton and Sonia Citron led its offensive charge with a combined 38 points and six assists while shooting 9 of 14 from the field.
Even with a late push from the Aces, who shot 53.3% in the fourth, Washington’s free-throw efficiency and overall consistency sealed the win over Las Vegas.
Here is a quarter-by-quarter breakdown:
First Quarter
The Aces trailed early when Chelsea Gray picked up a flagrant foul a little more than a minute into the game. Following the call, Washington upped the score to 13-8 before another foul was called on Jackie Young. After review, a technical foul was called on Sutton.
Washington shot 11 of 19 (57.9%) from the field and 42.9% from the 3-point line. Citron and Lucy Olsen put up a combined 12 points, with Sutton adding five points and three assists. The Aces clawed their way back to the game at 20-all with three minutes left on Young’s seven-foot driving layup. From there, a collection of misses and rebounds hit both teams.
The Aces struggled from deep and despite shooting 11 of 17 (64.7%) overall, they trailed Washington 29-25 after one.
Second Quarter
Washington would continue efficient play in the second.
Vegas would open with two points, and Washington would follow with two points of its own.
The Mystics shot 9 of 17 (52.9%) from the field and 3 of 6 (30%) from the 3-point line. Citron continued to play hot, scoring eight points, while Kiki Iriafen added four points and four rebounds.
The Aces shot slightly worse with 8-of-16 (50%) shooting from the paint, but going 100% from the free-throw line. Washington took a 53-44 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Third Quarter
The Mystics would come into the third scoring the first nine points, upping their lead to 18 points. The Aces responded with their first points of the second half at the 7:20 mark when Dana Evans’ 3-pointer fell.
The Mystics would keep it going, hitting 8 of 19 from the floor (42.1%) and also going 7 of 8 (87.5%) from the free-throw line, capitalizing on the Aces’ fouls.
The Aces still remained short, hitting only 6 of 18 (33.3%) and 2 of 7 (28.6%) from beyond the arc. Dana Evans became a light as Las Vegas continued to catch up, scoring nine of the team's 17 points. Las Vegas committed three costly turnovers and managed only two points in the paint, compared to Washington’s eight.
Throughout the quarter, the Mystics had as big as a 22-point lead, the largest of the game. The Aces were still behind with the score at 79-61 at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
With the Aces looking to pull ahead and make a comeback, they were the first to score at the beginning of the fourth, the start of a 7-0 run. In the final frame, they shot an efficient 53.3% from the field (8 of 17) and 33.3% (2 of 6) from 3-point range.
Though the Mystics were shooting just 26.7% (4 of 15) from the floor, they made up for it at the line, converting 6 of 8 from the free-throw line (75%), and controlled the boards with a 7-0 advantage in offensive rebounds.
“Terrible, start to finish,” Gray said. “We lost every quarter but that fourth quarter. And a lot of that is because our bench came in and competed and did a great job. And that's what we need. No togetherness defensively.”
Despite getting the deficit to as few as seven, the Aces couldn’t overcome their earlier struggles, allowing the Mystics to close out the game for their third-straight victory.
“They typically know when they mess up,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “If they don’t, I’ll typically tell them. I mean, we've played eight quarters against this team, and we've played hard and competed in two of them. Two out of the eight.”
Las Vegas will hit the road to face off against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.