Las Vegas Aces center A’Ja Wilson (22) is jacked over her basket after getting fouled against the New York Liberty forward Kennedy Burke (left) at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Wed Aug 14, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Rich Perez

LAS VEGAS–The Las Vegas Aces (19-14) won their fifth win in a row beating the New York Liberty (21-12) 83-77 Wednesday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena . They trailed for much of the game but really turned this game around in the fourth quarter.

They got the calls they needed in that fourth quarter and drew a lot of fouls to nail this win down. A’Ja Wilson had another double double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Jewell Loyd had the team high with 21 points. The Aces hit 15 free throws in the final quarter.

Game recap: The Aces got a nice start taking as much as a six-point lead in the first quarter. The Liberty took a six point lead late in the quarter and led after the first ten minutes of play 24-20.

The Aces took back the lead in the second quarter when Lloyd hit an open three for a 25-24 advantage and the war between the two teams was on. The Aces began to heat up going on a 9-2 run early in the quarter taking a 30-26 lead.

The Liberty lead the league in points from beyond the arc hitting four so far in this game, the Aces keeping pace also hitting four. At the half the Liberty had taken a 43-40 lead when Leonie Fiebich hit New York’s fifth three of the game with seconds left on the clock in the second quarter.

The Liberty had one player in double digits after two quarters, Emma Meesseman with 12 points. The Aces Wilson had 11 points and six rebounds in the half and Chelsea Gray also had 11 points.

Off the bench, Lloyd was on the verge of double digits with nine points. Las Vegas’ Jackie Young had a slow start and the team would need more from her in the second half. On the sidelines head coach Becky Hammon was heard telling the team to slow down.

Las Vegas would not beat New York playing in a hurry and they needed to keep the Liberty out of the paint. New York was shooting at nearly 53% and had scored 26 points in the paint. The Aces had only scored 12 points in the paint in a very competitive game.

Mid-way through the third quarter, the Liberty took their largest lead of the night 54-47. Lloyd made her fifth of eight threes taking up residence in the corner. Young was really struggling in this game with only three points through almost three quarters.

Despite trailing, Las Vegas was coming up with some great interior defense in an effort to squelch the New York points in the paint. With 2:06 left in the third, Young really rose to the occasion hitting a three to tie up this game at 58 plus a free throw was awarded giving Las Vegas a 59-58 lead.

After three quarters it was about as tight a game that one could imagine with New York clinging to a 63-61 lead. Young had a great late third quarter hitting eight points joining Wilson and Gray with 11 points. Loyd was having a great game leading the team scoring with 18 points.

Las Vegas was able to get some stops to start the fourth quarter trailing by a single point 64-65. Chelsea Gray drew a foul giving the Aces a 66-65 lead. Wilson had a double double early in the fourth with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

With four minutes left in the game it was dead even at 72 apiece. With 2 1/2 left in the game the Aces had a 78-74 lead. A’Ja Wilson does what she does so well and that is draw fouls. She made some critical free throws to extend their lead out to 81-77 with under a minute.

The Aces took the 81-77 lead into the final 19 seconds of the game. The Liberty fouled Jackie Young who took the lead out to 83-77. The final was 83-77 and the Aces had their fifth win in a row beating the second place Liberty. It was an outstanding win for Las Vegas.

The team got the stops they needed to win this game in the fourth quarter. Loyd finished with the team high of 21 points. She was a huge part of this win. The Aces are hitting their stride at just the right time this season.

Wilson had a double double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Young sure turned her game around finishing with 15 points and five rebounds. Gray had 13 points.

Game notes: Wednesday night the Aces beat the Liberty to continue their climb up in the standings. Going into Wednesday night’s game the Aces were holding onto fifth place and New York was in second place.

Las Vegas was also playing another game at Michelob ULTRA Arena to another sell-out crowd and more home court support, a real advantage. The Liberty had to fight off a late flight arrival or rather an early Wednesday morning arrival in Las Vegas.

The Aces will now travel to Phoenix for a matchup with the Mercury. They will be looking for a sixth win in a row with the tipoff scheduled for Friday night at 7:00 PM.