WNBA: A’ja Wilson and the Aces beat the Fever—again

Don’t count them out just yet.

On a Sunday with five WNBA games on the schedule, the day’s marquee matchup delivered, as the Las Vegas Aces earned its best win of the year, defeating Indiana Fever, 89-81.

A’ja Wilson had 24 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the win. One of those rejections came during the final minute of the game. Wilson starts by defending Aliyah Boston and then rotates over to the other side of the court for an impressive block on Lexie Hull. The play kept it a two-possession game and sealed the deal for Las Vegas.

The Fever had a great game as their “Big 3” stepped up. Boston ended the game with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell added another 20 points, while Caitlin Clark had a double-double of her own with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

From the fan energy to the play on the court, this game had the kind of atmosphere usually reserved for postseason play.

It started with Sydney Colson getting an ovation for her first game back in Las Vegas since joining Indiana. She spent the past three seasons with the Aces, helping the franchise win back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.

It was a tight affair throughout, but the Fever maintained a lead for most of the game, until the the fourth quarter, when Aces were able to seize control. Las Vegas went on a 6-0 run and took their first lead since the opening quarter midway through the final period.

Mitchell went on her own 6-0 scoring burst to make things even at 69. The Aces then responded with a 5-0 run and never looked back. They had the advantage for the rest of the game, beating the Fever in impressive fashion.

Las Vegas is still very flawed and can be a frustrating watch, but they have a lot of talent and can still pull off wins like this if games are tight down the stretch.

Dream defeat Sky to continue stellar start

The day’s action started on a high note with the Atlanta Dream beating the Chicago Sky, 93-80.

The Dream have quickly gone from a team to watch to a team to beat. They are now 10-4 on the season, which is their best start since their 2014 campaign.

On Sunday, they got it done with Rhyne Howard being her usual, dominant self. She ended the game with a team-high 22 points. Allisha Gray continues to have one of her best seasons, adding 19 points in the win.

For the Sky, Angel Reese had a monstrous rebounding game, grabbing 19 boards. Ariel Atkins led the offensive charge with 29 points and Elizabeth Williams was huge off the bench with 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to change the outcome for Chicago, who is now 3-10 on the year.

Citron seals OT win for DC

In another thriller, the Washington Mystics took on the Dallas Wings and squeaked out a 91-88 win in overtime.

Sonia Citron was the hero in this one, hitting the game-winning 3-pointer for Washington.

Citron had a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds. Shakira Austin added in 21 points, with Kiki Iriafen putting in 19 points in the win. With Citron and Iriafen, the Mystics did exceptionally well in this year’s draft, and suddenly, their future looks promising.

The Wings fought valiantly but fell just short in overtime. Arike Ogunbowale scored 27 points, while Paige Bueckers had another 20-point game. The duo is playing together much better, but couldn’t pull off the road win on Sunday.

Storm, Valkyries close the weekend out with wins

The Seattle Storm beat the Sabrina Ionescu-less New York Liberty, 89-79.

Breanna Stewart led the way with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but the Liberty, also with Jonquel Jones (ankle) and Leonie Fiebich (EuroBasket), were just too shorthanded to win this game. The Storm got another top performance from Skylar Diggins, who ended the night with 20 points. Nneka Ogwumike had 26 points, securing Seattle’s ninth win of the year.

The Golden State Valkyries may be dealing with a lot of players out due to EuroBasket Women, but they’re still finding ways to win, demolishing the Connecticut Sun, 87-63.

Kayla Thornton continues her All-Star worthy season, scoring 21 points in this Valkyries win. Golden State had five players in double figures and outrebounded Connecticut, 51-35.

The Sun never had a chance in this one, and only Aneesah Morrow was in double figures for Connecticut with 14 points. Every season, there is a bottom team that loses a gaudy number of games. This year, that team is Connecticut.