A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young Combine for 64 Points to Lift Aces over Valkyries 104-102
WNBA Las Vegas Aces

A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young Combine for 64 Points to Lift Aces over Valkyries 104-102

July 12, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Las Vegas Aces News Release


LAS VEGAS - Led by A'ja Wilson 's third 30-point, 10-rebound game of the season and a 30-point output by Jackie Young, the Las Vegas Aces (10-11) narrowly defeated the Golden State Valkyries (10-10) 104-102 on Saturday afternoon at Michelob ULTRA Arena. After missing the last game with a wrist injury, Wilson recorded game-highs of 34 points and 16 rebounds and Jewell Loyd added 15 points in the victory.

Janelle Salaün and Tiffany Hayes led the Valkyries with 16 points apiece among 6 Valkyries players in double figures.

First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 23, Golden State 21)

The Aces opened on a 11-4 spurt to start the game before Hayes sunk two 3-pointers in a row to cut the Aces lead to a point at 11-10. During that run, Wilson had 7 points. Golden State took the lead 12-11 shortly after, but Las Vegas responded with a 8-1 run and regained the lead at 19-13. Golden State shot 40% (4-10 3pt FGs) from beyond the arc and the Aces were cold from 3-point land, going 0 of 5. The Aces outscored the Valkyries 16-6 in the paint. Wilson finished with her season quarter-high 13 points in the opening frame, while Hayes led the Valkyries with 6.

Second Quarter Highlights (Golden State 46, Las Vegas 45)

Golden State launched an 11-2 run to start the second to extend their lead to 7 points, 32-25, before Wilson scored the next 7 for the Aces to bring them within 2 at the 5:22 mark. The teams went back and forth until the Aces tied it at 44-all with 1:26 to go. The Aces made 8 of 16 (.500) from the floor while holding the Valkyries to 8 of 19 (.421), but shot 2 of 6 from beyond the arc in the quarter to 5 of 11 from the Valks. Wilson scored 12 of the Aces 22 points in the quarter on a perfect 5 of 5 from the field, and set a new season-high with 25 points in a half. Salaün and Kayla Thornton paced the Valkyries with 5 points apiece.

Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 76, Golden State 72)

With 5 lead changes and 2 ties, the teams traded baskets throughout most the third quarter. Trailing 55-54, the Aces went on a 16-8 run run to take a 7-point lead 70-63 with 1:52 to go in the third. The Aces shot 60% (9 -15 FGs) from the floor, while making 10 of 11 (90.9%) from the free throw line; Golden State hit 52.9% (9-17 FGs) of their attempts overall, but missed all 4 3-point attempts. Loyd (15 points) and Young (13) combined for 28 points, while the highest scorer for Golden State was Carla Leite with 6.

Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 104, Golden State 102)

The Aces went on a 14-9 run to expand to their largest lead of the game, 90-81, with 5:14 to go. Golden State countered with a 10-2 run to narrow the score to 92-91 with 2:42 remaining. After a Veronica Burton and-1 tied the score at 94-94, Young scored the next 6 for a 100-94 Aces lead. A pair of free throws by Young were bookended by two 3s from Golden State and the lead was down to 2, 102-100 with 7.3 seconds to play. Young scored the final 2 points from the line to seal the win. Golden State scored the final bucket at the buzzer to bring it to 104-102. The visitors made 11 of 16 (.688) of their field goal attempts, including 3 of 7 from distance, and were 5 of 6 from the line. The Aces were 8-14 (.571) overall, 1 of 3 from 3-point and netted 11 of 12 from the charity stripe. Young scored a high of 10 points, 6 from the line, while two Valkryies had 7 apiece.

KEY STATS

Las Vegas made a season-high 54.8% (34-62 FGs) from the field tonight, while Golden State connected on 51.5% (35 of 68) of their shot attempts.

The Aces shot 6 of 21 (.286) from 3-point, while the Valkyries were 12 of 32 (.375) from deep.

Las Vegas scored 8 points off 10 Golden State turnovers, but gave up 11 points off their own 9 turnovers

In a game that featured 10 lead changes and 7 tied scores, no team led by double figures.

The Aces outscored the Valkyries 48-38 in the paint, 16-14 on second chances and 8-2 on the fast break.

The Aces edged the Valkryies 30-28 on the glass.

GAME NOTES

Wilson has posted 3 of the 4 double-doubles with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds recorded in the WNBA this season. Napheesa Collier has the other one. Wilson's other 2 games were May 17 against New York and May 30 against Los Angeles.

With 19 (and counting) Wilson also has recorded the most double-doubles with 30+ points in league history. Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart have 15 apiece.

Wilson has now tallied 106 double-doubles in her 7+ years in the league, which is 6th-most in WNBA history and third among current players.

Wilson is the 7th player in league history to amass 5,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, 500 assists, 400 blocked shots and 300 steals. Wilson needed 1 steal tonight to join that list. She is the fastest (244 games) and youngest (28 years, 338 days) to the milestone.

Wilson, who recorded 34 points and 16 rebounds without a single turnover, now has 10 career games with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds with zero turnovers, which is the most in league history. Lauren Jackson and Breanna Stewart are No. 2 with 6 apiece.

Wilson entered the game with 5,113 points and with her 34 points, passed Swin Cash (5,119) to move into the top 25 among all-time WNBA scoring leaders. Skylar Diggins is No. 24 with 5,205 points.

Tonight marked Young's 5 th 30-point game of her career and second of the season.

Gray entered the game needing just 1 steal to become just the 5th player in WNBA history with at least 4,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 1,500 assists, 400 steals and 100 blocked shots. Gray, who has now played in 346 games, became the second-fastest (Alyssa Thomas, 327) and at 32 years and 277 days, is the youngest to the milestone (Thomas was the previous youngest at 33 years, 67 days).

Dana Evans, who had 994 points entering the game, scored her 1,000 th career point and now has 1,002.

Loyd now has 5,768 points for her career, which ranks No. 19 in WNBA history. Stewart is No. 18 with 5,791.

Las Vegas hosted 10,070 fans in its 36th consecutive home sellout.

The Aces were without Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (pregnancy).

UP NEXT: The Aces are back on the road for a Wednesday, July 16, contest at the Dallas Wings (6-15) before heading into the All-Star break. The game, which tips at 5 p.m. PT, will be broadcast locally on Vegas 34.

Check out the Las Vegas Aces Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 12, 2025


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