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WNBA Las Vegas Aces

GAME Preview: Aces and Sun Meet for 3rd Time in Saturday Afternoon Contest on ABC

June 30, 2023 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Las Vegas Aces News Release


LAS VEGAS - The 3rd and final regular season meeting between the Las Vegas Aces (14-1) and Connecticut Sun (12-4) is set to tip off at 12 pm PT on Saturday, July 1 at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC and on the radio locally on ESPN Las Vegas.

The first two meetings were in Connecticut and marked the second half of a four-game road trip for the Aces, who took the first game on June 6, 90-84, while the Sun rebounded for a 94-77 victory on June 8.

In Game 1, the Aces held a 48-31 lead at halftime, were up 70-53 going into the final period, and held off a fourth-quarter surge from Connecticut for the 6-point win. The Aces assisted on each of their first 13 made field goals and rounded out the night with 25 dimes on 32 buckets. Wilson scored a game-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds; Young finished with 22 points, 7 caroms and 6 assists; Plum notched 17 points and 6 assists; and Gray chipped in 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Rebecca Allen, who was held to 2 points in the first half, tallied 14 points in the 4th quarter and topped out for the Sun with 22 points. Alyssa Thomas grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and scored 14 points.

In Game 2, Connecticut halted the Aces 11-game winning streak thanks to DeWanna Bonner, who scored a career- and franchise-high 41 points (16-23 FGs). The Aces received 16 points from Plum, Wilson scored 13, Gray notched 12 and Young had 10. Las Vegas was held to a season-low 77 points and made 46.7% of its shots from the field overall, after making 30.8% in the first quarter, while Connecticut hit on 52.9%. Thomas dished out 12 assists for the Sun.

The Aces starting 5 are averaging 79.1 ppg, led by Jackie Young's 19.5 ppg (5th in the league) and 3.3 apg; A'ja Wilson's 19.4 ppg (9th), 9.0 rpg (6th) and 2.1 bpg (2nd); Kelsey Plum's 17.1 ppg and 4.2 apg; and Chelsea Gray's 14.3 ppg and 6.5 apg (3rd).

The Aces are averaging league-highs of 93.1 ppg, 5.5 bpg and are ranked first in field goal percentage (.503) and second in 3-point field goal percentage (.377), assists (22.5 apg) and points in the paint (40.3).

The Sun are led by Bonner's 17.6 ppg (6th), while Thomas is averaging 14.6 ppg (24th), a league-high 10.4 rpg and 8.0 apg (2nd).

Averaging 83.9 ppg (5th), Connecticut is grabbing 35.7 rpg (4th) and dishing out 21.3 apg (3rd).

Connecticut lost 6-foot-3 forward Brionna Jones to a season-ending right Achilles injury on June 20. Jones averaged 15.9 ppg and 8.2 rpg in 13 games for the Sun, including 13 points in the 85-79 win over the Storm on June 20.

QUICK COMPARE & CONTRAST

The Aces and Suns, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the league, look relatively evenly matched on paper as the teams are generally ranked within 3 places in several of the top statistical categories.

ACES W Rank STAT W Rank SUN

93.1 1 PPG 5 83.9

34.8 7 RPG 5 35.7

22.5 2 APG 3 21.3

113.8 1 OER 3 103.2

94.4 2 DER 3 96.7

19.4 1 Net Rating 3 6.6

1.82 1 AST/TO 3 1.56

20.0 2 Assist Ratio 3 18.4

17.1 2 Points Off TO 1 19.5

40.3 2 Points in Paint 1 40.6

13.1 2 Opp. Pts off TO 1 12.8

9.7 5 OPP 2nd chance 11 11.4

56.8 1 EFG% 4 48.7

Check out the Las Vegas Aces Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 30, 2023


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