Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (22) passes to guard Jackie Young (0) defending the Dallas Wings forward Natasha Howard (6) and guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) in first half action of the WNBA semifinals at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
A’Ja Wilson and company took it to the Dallas Wings in the opening round of the semi-finals. Wilson finished with 34 points and eight rebounds in the 97-83 win in game 1. Kelsey Plum had a terrific game with 25 points and five rebounds.
Sunday afternoon the defending champion Las Vegas Aces (1-0) continued on their path to a back-to-back title. The Dallas Wings (0-1) stand between them and a trip to the finals. The Wings are the only team to defeat not only the Aces but also the Liberty and Connecticut in the regular season. They are a dangerous team.
In the previous game in this semi-final round, the New York Liberty were upset by the Connecticut Sun 78-63. In this game the Wings faced not only the Most Valuable Defensive Player of the year in A’Ja Wilson but also Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum. It was a daunting task for Dallas.
Game 1 recap: The Aces did not have the greatest rhythm to start the game and with 2:03 left in the first quarter gave up the lead. Las Vegas had led by as much as six points but turnovers led to a 17-16 Dallas lead. As the quarter came to an end the Aces had taken back the lead by the slimmest of margins 20-19. Both teams were turning over the ball way too much which did not bode well for either of them. Wilson finished the quarter with ten points.
As this game wore on it became evident that this would be no easy task for Las Vegas despite the Wings season record. They would have to be on their A-game against this red hot team. Kelsey Plum had a slow start but got it going in the second quarter. In 2 1/2 minutes time she scored ten points going on a “Plum Run”.
The Aces held on winning the second quarter 29-26 taking a 49-45 halftime lead into the locker room. If the first half was any indication, the Aces would have to take it up a notch in the second half. This infamously second half team would have to live up to that. The Wings were proving to be a very tough opponent through the first two quarters.
As the third quarter got underway we saw an Ace team that was living up to their reputation taking a ten point lead mid-way through the quarter. Las Vegas smothered the Wings in the quarter winning it 26-12 taking a 75-57 lead.
After being down by 20 points, the Wings pulled to within 11 points but Las Vegas ran it back up to a 17 point lead with 6:52 left in the game. The Aces were on a mission and they were playing like it leading 83-66.
Las Vegas had four starters in double digits with A’Ja Wilson leading the way with 32 points. Las Vegas finished off this game in Ace style 97-83. They had ten shots from beyond the arc and four starters in double digits. Besides Wilson and Plum, Jackie Young finished with 19 points and ten rebounds. Chelsea Young had 13 points .
Game two of this semi-final round will be played on Tuesday in Las Vegas at Michelob ULTRA Arena with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 PM.
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