The Las Vegas Aces set a WNBA record for the most wins in a season with their win over the Chicago Sky on Thu Aug 24, 2023 in Chicago (@LVAces image)

By Barbara Mason

Thursday evening the Las Vegas Aces (30-4) traveled to Chicago taking on the Sky (13-21) and hung onto for a seven point win over Chicago 94-87. As this game got underway, the first half turned out to be more of a nightmare for the Aces.

The Sky had a great game plan holding Las Vegas to 37.8% from the field while the Sky were shooting a little over 54%. Chicago was aggressive coming away with 20 rebounds to the Aces 14. The Sky won the first quarter 24-17 as well as the second 26-20.

At the half, the Sky had a 50-37 lead. We have seen the Aces overcome deficits all season but the first half saw Las Vegas missing far too many shots. They definitely had a lackluster first half. Kelsey Plum had only made a number of free throws but nothing from the field.

A’Ja Wilson had 12 points at the half with both Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young with eight points. If Las Vegas was going to win this matchup, they had to pick up their offense. The Aces have shown over and over that they are a second half team and they need to pull out all the stops in this contest. The first half was all Chicago.

The Sky did not slow down one bit in the third quarter. Las Vegas had cut the Chicago lead to single digits in the early minutes but the Sky came roaring back to take a 56-42 lead. They were relentless. Las Vegas began to turn up their physicality once again cutting the Dream lead to single digits.

Kelsey Plum turned up the heat hitting 16 points with just under five minutes left in the quarter with the Aces eyeing the lead trailing 60-57. With 2:45 left in the quarter it was a tie game 62-62. The Aces rallied in this game to take the lead 67-65 after having trailed by 16 points.

Kelsey Plum had struggled in the first half but completely turned it around in the second half finishing with 18 points as the third quarter came to an end. The Aces had a slim lead going into the fourth quarter 70-68. They had won the third quarter 33-18.

With less than six minutes left in the game, the Aces had a 81-78 lead and it became evident that this game was going down to the wire. The Aces got a slight advantage in the fourth quarter taking a 86-80 lead with under four minutes left in the game.

With all the marbles on the table this was anybody’s game. The Aces played a brilliant final minute extending their lead 90-84 with 43 ticks on the clock. They had won 30 season games which was a WNBA record.

The Aces fought hard in the second half. They had no choice in the matter; the Dream came in with incredible energy and a great plan that had the Aces stymied in the first half. Jackie Young had the team high with 24 points with Kelsey Plum right behind her with 24. Both A’Ja Wilson and Jackie Young had 10 rebounds apiece. It was an amazing comeback.

Saturday evening Las Vegas will take on the Washington Mystics. The Aces have a huge bullseye on their backs. With so many teams vying for a spot in the playoffs they have all lifted their level of play to new heights. The Mystics will be no different. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.