CHICAGO – The Las Vegas Aces secured their spot in the WNBA playoffs by defeating the Chicago Sky with a score of 79-74 this Monday night. Jackie Young stood out with 22 points and seven assists, while A’ja Wilson contributed 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Aces, with a 25-14 record, achieved their eleventh consecutive victory, becoming the second team to secure a playoff spot this season.
Chelsea Gray had 14 points and seven assists, and NaLyssa Smith added 10 points for the Las Vegas team.
Ariel Atkins led Chicago (9-28) with 30 points, a season high, and Kamilla Cardoso had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Angel Reese added 10 points and 17 rebounds, recording her 20th double-double of the season, leading the league in this statistic. Reese also surpassed Tina Charles (45) in WNBA history for the most double-doubles in a player’s first two seasons.
Young scored the last 12 points for Las Vegas in the first half, crowning his performance with a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left before halftime, establishing a 44-32 lead. He finished the first half with 20 points, shooting an impressive 8 of 10 from the field, including 4 of 5 from three-point range.
Reese, with a layup on a fast break with 2:37 left in the fourth, gave Chicago a 74-73 lead, its first since leading 7-5.
Gray hit a three-pointer to restore the lead to 76-74, and Wilson scored a shot from the corner of the free throw line on the next possession, extending the lead to four points.
During halftime, Chicago honored Candace Parker by retiring her number 3 jersey at Wintrust Arena, next to the 2021 championship banner she helped win. Previously, Parker also had her jersey retired in Los Angeles, where she won a championship in 2016.
Parker is the second WNBA player to have her number retired by two different teams. Lindsay Whalen also had her jersey retired by Connecticut and Minnesota.
