Photo credit: Ned Dishman/NBAE 

By Shawn McCullough

The Connecticut Sun rolled off a 20-4 run to finish the game as the Aces fell 77-68 in game three of the WNBA semifinals at the IMG Bubble in Bradenton, FL.

“We took a lead there in the fourth quarter, but ran out of gas,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “We couldn’t make shots, we couldn’t score.”

For the second straight game, the Aces found themselves in a close game in the fourth quarter, but tonight, turnovers and Connecticut offensive rebounds killed Las Vegas.

“How many times can we turn the ball over and expect to win the game?” said forward Angel McCoughtry.  “You can’t do that in the playoffs.”

The Aces turned the ball over 15 times, while Connecticut had only four turnovers in the game.

A’ja Wilson led the Aces with a double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

“Bill [Laimbeer] always says, playoff games are really about turnovers, offensive rebounds and free throws and we lost in all of those categories,” said Wilson.

The Aces will try to stave off elimination in game four of the best of five series on Sunday.

“It’s not over yet,” said guard Danielle Robinson.  “We just play free and go out there and win the next game.”

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

• The Aces shot just 38.8% from the field.
• Las Vegas allowed the Sun to pull down 14 offensive rebounds.
• The Aces went 5 for 14 from three point range.

Game Starters:

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 35 Angel McCoughtry
C – 4 Carolyn Swords
G – 21 Kayla McBride
G – 3 Danielle Robinson