The Las Vegas Aces set a franchise record with their 13th win in a row, and they did so by taking down the team that last beat them in a potential WNBA Finals preview.
The Aces will see how far this run can take them with three games remaining in the regular season, starting with two at home against the Chicago Sky. They will begin that set Sunday night and run it back on Tuesday.
Las Vegas’ 97-87 home win over the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday was the biggest of the team’s historic streak because of what it represented. The last time the Aces and Lynx had squared off on Aug. 2, Minnesota ran away with a 111-58 laugher, handing Las Vegas the second-worst loss in WNBA history.
The Aces (27-14) wouldn’t let that happen again. They shot a resounding 38 of 69 from the field (55.1 percent), had 25 assists to 12 turnovers and outscored Minnesota in every quarter. A’ja Wilson was a dominant 12-for-15 shooting for 31 points and eight rebounds.
“When you’re losing, you have to fight off human nature to question yourself,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “You have to stay really resolute in what you believe. … Even though we were losing games, I told them multiple times, ‘We’re so close to turning that corner. And once that corner is turned, it’s going to be scary.'”
Wilson has re-entered the MVP conversation by scoring 30-plus points in seven of her last 10 games. In the 13-game win streak, she’s averaged 27.2 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.0 blocks.
If they win out, the Aces would tie the 2014 Phoenix Mercury for the second-longest win streak in WNBA history at 16. Only the 2001 Los Angeles Sparks (18) had a longer run.
Las Vegas gets to face badly struggling Chicago (10-31), a team that won’t have star Angel Reese for the first half of Sunday’s game.
After Reese was suspended for Friday against the Indiana Fever for technical foul accumulation, her team handed her an additional half-game punishment for comments she made to the Chicago Tribune about needing better players around her next year. The discipline came as a surprise, as it was announced after Reese had apologized privately and publicly.
“It was from the top down. It was an organizational decision,” said Tyler Marsh, wrapping up his first year as a head coach at any level. “It’s kinda handled internally and that’s kinda what it’s been.”
Without Reese, the Sky fell 97-77 at the Fever on Friday. Kamilla Cardoso had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Michaela Onyenwere also supplied 18 points.
–Field Level Media
