LAS VEGAS—At some point, the sports world will run out of superlatives to describe A’ja Wilson’s dominance.
The Las Vegas Aces superstar has reached the stage of her career where it becomes more difficult to tell what she has yet to accomplish in her career. Every accolade is just another to add to the evergrowing list, and this season has provided little exception. The first player in WNBA history to sweep the Player of the Month awards, Wilson’s unprecedented fifth MVP feels imminent.
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However, Wilson still manages to find a way to make history almost every time she touches the court, and that was the case again in the Aces’ 88-70 win over the Seattle Storm at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Sunday.
In the second quarter, Wilson officially became the first player in WNBA history to cross the 1000-point milestone in back-to-back seasons.
“I don’t take this moment for granted,” said Wilson, who was more focused on helping the Aces with the victory.
“When you’re able to be in the record books for the WNBA, it’s a pretty big deal considering how many players have played this game, how many players are playing the game currently. So, I’m blessed. I’m blessed to be in this situation.”
The history-making moment was just the dollop of cream on top of what was an excellent night at the office for Wilson, who lead all scorers with 30 points on the night. She also added eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in the victory.
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It would also be a tremendous night for Jackie Young, coming off a career-high 35 points against this same Storm team on Thursday. While she would not have the same lofty point total, she would still produce 23 points, as well as a game-high eight assists, three rebounds and two steals.
“Jack works her butt off and she shows up every single night, even nights she may not feel herself, but she’s still able to show up and kind of work on both ends of the basketball,” said Wilson on her longtime teammate.
“All-WNBA, 100 percent. I ain’t got a vote but, if I did, I’d give it to Jackie.”
Her fellow World Cup gold medalist Chelsea Gray also put together a strong effort with 15 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals.
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Even when the trio was not on the court, the Aces managed to find ways to get their bench involved, with Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Mai Yamamoto and Ta’Niya Latson all recording eight points apiece.
“I think Cheyenne comes in, helps us on the points and on the glass. Jewell [Loyd] impacts the game in a certain kind of way defensively, even if she’s not hitting shots. And then, [Ta’Niya] got in there and unloaded for eight points real quick,” recapped Aces head coach Becky Hammon on the bench’s performance.
“We need that bench production. We need those points coming in. I think Cheyenne, Mai, Jewell, we know Dana [Evans] is capable of coming in and giving us eight to ten. It’s going to have to be by committee.”
While the Aces came away with a blowout win, it did not always feel like the Storm would go down quietly.
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Seattle started the game strong with an 8-3 lead inside the first three minutes of play, and they seemed to get on the verge of inching their way back into the game at various points. However, the Aces were quick to seize momentum away and get right back to spacing their lead out.
The major culprit would be turnovers, with the Aces forcing the Storm to cough up the ball 20 times. The defensive chaos lead to 25 Las Vegas points off of turnovers, as well as a 27-8 edge in fast break points. Along with the aforementioned Wilson, Young and Gray, Parker-Tyus and Jewell Loyd would also record multiple steals on the night.
“We got 13 steals. I like that. It led to a lot of transition buckets for us,” said Hammon on the defensive effort.
“We had a lot of hand activity, a lot of deflections. I don’t know how many we had for the game, but it seemed like we were getting our hands on a lot of the ball. So, that kind of activity is what I’m looking for.”
With six straight victories and home-court advantage in the first round getting closer to a reality, the Aces will close out their home slate on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
