Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, left, and Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young scramble for the ball during the first half at College Park Center in Arlington on Fri Sep 29, 2023 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
Friday night the Las Vegas Aces (34-6) took on the Dallas Wings (22-18) looking to finish up this semi-final series and head into yet another WNBA Finals. The Aces have had a relatively easy path so far in these playoffs.
The Wings came out with a game plan which forced the Aces into turnovers and took A’Ja Wilson completely out of the game. Dallas forced the Aces into some very uncharacteristic play. Dallas’ rebounds through three quarters were (36) to the Aces 28.
It was all a part of the plan. Forcing the turnovers was also working for the Wings. Las Vegas had lost the ball 17 times with 6:31 left in the game. The Aces got back on track in the final minutes to take this one home in a real nail-biter 64-61.
Dallas led after the first quarter by a slim margin of 18-16. At the half, the Wings led by 36-31. The Wings were starting to put the hurt on Las Vegas. They had contained A’Ja Wilson. At the half she was shooting single digits as was the rest of the team. It was the slowest of starts for Las Vegas running into a determined Dallas team.
The Aces won the third quarter 18-15 and this game was going down to the wire. The Wings held onto a 51-49 lead after three quarters in this low scoring game.
A’Ja Wilson finally reached the double digit mark in the fourth quarter as did teammates Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum. Wilson continued to struggle having committed eight turnovers herself and only managing 13 points with 2:28 left in the game.
The score was tied 61-61 as the clock approached two minutes. This game was going down to the wire. With 31.8 left on the clock the Aces had a one-point lead 62-61. They had a great opportunity to extend their lead but Chelsea Gray threw the ball out of bounds.
The last possession would win this game. A jump ball ended up in the hands of the Wings with 9.0 left on the clock. Dallas missed the final shot and in the process fouled Jackie Young who made both free throws. With 2.7 seconds left on the clock Las Vegas led 64-61. The Aces had mounted an 11-0 run to take the game and the series. Las Vegas had earned a trip to the finals 64-61.
This game was a dogfight. The Aces struggled from start to finish but pulled it all together at 4:59 in the fourth quarter. Dallas did not score a single point in the final (4:59) minutes. The Wings had forced 20 Las Vegas turnovers.
Dallas had a great game plan and executed it on point until the final minutes of the game. The 64 points scored in this game were the fewest in Aces franchise history. You have to give a lot of credit to the Dallas Wings. They played hard and very nearly pulled off the upset in game three.
The Aces had four players in double digits. A’Ja Wilson had a double double with 13 rebounds and 13 points but it was Chelsea Gray who had the high with 15 points. Both Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young each had 11 points.
This was not even close to what we are accustomed to seeing from this Las Vegas team and as A’Ja Wilson said that is just the way things go sometimes. This certainly is something that they want to get out their system before they head into the finals on Sunday October 8th. The winner between the Liberty and the Sun may be determined this coming Sunday with New York leading the series 2-1.
Sports Radio Service 