A’ja Wilson produced 23 points and 19 rebounds as the Las Vegas Aces clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming WNBA playoffs and finished the regular season on a 16-game winning streak following a 103-75 victory over the host Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday.
Jackie Young recorded 17 points and 12 assists, and Chelsea Gray added 15 points, 10 assists and seven steals as the Aces (30-14) tied the second-longest regular-season winning streak in WNBA history, matching a 2014 run from the Phoenix Mercury. The Sparks own the league record of 18 consecutive wins, which they set in 2001.
Jewell Loyd had 21 points for Las Vegas, which tied the Atlanta Dream for second place but owns the tiebreaker. The Aces are set to face the No. 7 seed Seattle Storm in a first-round best-of-three playoff series starting Sunday.
Las Vegas made 22 baskets from 3-point range on 45 attempts and shot better from long distance (48.9 percent) than overall (48.7 percent). Loyd made seven 3-pointers and Young sank five.
Dearica Hamby, Kelsey Plum and Sarah Ashlee Barker each scored 15 points for the Sparks (21-23), who were eliminated from playoff consideration on Tuesday. Rae Burrell scored 10 points and Azura Stevens had 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which finished the regular season by winning 15 of its last 24 games.
The Sparks’ Cameron Brink, who played 19 games after recovering from a knee injury sustained last season, departed in the second quarter with a bloody nose after taking an elbow under the basket from the Aces’ NaLyssa Smith.
The Sparks were without third-leading scorer Rickea Jackson (14.7 points) because of a lower leg injury.
The Aces took control early with a 29-13 lead through one quarter by shooting 57.9 percent from the floor. The Sparks missed their first seven shots from 3-point range as Las Vegas led 53-34 at halftime.
Young scored 14 points in the first half, while Wilson had 10 rebounds as the Aces went 11 of 19 from 3-point range. Plum had 11 points at the half for the Sparks.
Plum, who was traded from the Aces to the Sparks in the offseason, helped Los Angeles to a 1-3 record against her former team this season.
–Field Level Media
