Photo credit: @LVAces

By Ana Kieu

The Las Vegas Aces not only defeated the Chicago Sky 100-85 at Wintrust Arena, they also punched their tickets to the WNBA playoffs.

The Aces’ starting five featured Kelsey Plum, Kayla McBride, Liz Cambage, Dearica Hamby and Jackie Young.

The Sky provided the home crowd with their daily dose of Courtney Vandersloot’s assists throughout in the first quarter. Cambage–who turned 28 today–stood out as an Ace with her birthday bucket midway through the first. The Sky barely led 23-21 at the end of the first.

The Aces, however, charged ahead in the second quarter. Cambage made more birthday buckets and A’ja Wilson blocked a shot that denied potential Sky points late in the second. The Aces outscored the Sky 26-18 en route to a 47-41 lead at the halftime break.

Cambage got down to business in the third quarter with a plethora of buckets, field goals and jumpers. Also, Sydney Colson was a speedy runner who knocked down jumpers and showed off tip-ins. Colson, a veteran guard, has proven herself as a leader in redirecting the Aces’ season in the desert. The Aces led 47-64 at the end of the third.

Plum managed to plow her way past Sky defenders to tip the ball into the net for extra points in the fourth quarter. Moreover, Wilson denied a Sky shot by rebounding the ball with a little over five minutes left in the fourth. The Aces played to a 100-85 win over the Sky on the road.

The Aces return home to host the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday, August 20 at 7:00 p.m. PT.