Las Vegas Aces Fall to New York 92-78 in Season Opener
May 17, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Las Vegas Aces News Release
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - Despite a 31-point, 16-rebound performance from A'ja Wilson, the Las Vegas Aces (0-1) dropped their season opener against the New York Liberty (1-0) on Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn. Jackie Young added 16 points, Chelsea Gray scored 12 and Dana Evans checked in for 10 to round out the Aces double-digit scorers.
Breanna Stewart, 25 points, and Natasha Cloud, 22, finished as the Liberty's top scorers
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 20, New York 19)
The first quarter was relatively even with two lead changes, a trio of knotted scores and no more than a 5-point separation in scores. Wilson topped all scorers with 11 points and Nyara Sabally checked in or a high of 6 for the Liberty.
Second Quarter Highlights (New York 47, Las Vegas 33)
New York opened the second stanza on a 9-0 tear to move ahead 28-20. A Young 3-pointer halted the run, but the Aces were outscored 28-13 over the quarter. The Aces shot 23.8% (5-12 FGs), while the Liberty swished in 57.9% (11-19 FGs) of theirs. Jewell Loyd scored 5 for the Aces and Stewart topped out with 14.
Third Quarter Highlights (New York 63, Las Vegas 58)
Improved shooting by the Aces helped bridge the gap in the third period as the team shot 47.4% (9-19 FGs) from the field and 50% (5-10 3pt FGs) from 3-point, while the Liberty missed all 9 of their 3-point attempts and made just 30% (6-20 FGs) from the floor. Wilson scored 11 and Young added 9 points, while Stewart finished with a high of 6 for the Liberty.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (New York 92, Las Vegas 78)
The Aces cut it to 2 points, 66-64, on a Wilson and-1 with 6:56 to play in the game, but the Liberty responded with an 8-0 run from which the Aces were never able to recover. The home side hit 73.3% of their field goals in the fourth quarter, while the Aces netted just 30.4%.Evans scored 8 points and Wilson had 7 in the final frame, while Cloud led New York with 9.
KEY STATS
The Liberty outscored the Aces 56-32 points in the paint and 12-7 on the fast break. The Aces closed the game hitting 34.1% (28-82 FGs) of their field goal attempts and 34.4% (11-32 3pt FGs) from distance; while New York, which edged the Aces on the glass 43-41, finished shooting 48.6% (35-72 FGs) from the field overall but just 19% from beyond the arc (4-21 3pt FGs). Las Vegas made 11-of-13 at the charity stripe and New York shot 18-of-21 from the line.
The Liberty's largest lead of the game was 17 points (47-30, 25.6 seconds left in the second quarter) while the Aces held a 2-point lead on the first bucket of the game, a Wilson layup at 9:25.
Kiah Stokes was the Aces second-leading rebounder with 7.
GAME NOTES
Gray, who dished out 4 assists and now has 1,635 in her career, moved past Candace Parker to No. 7 on the WNBA's all-time assist list. No. 6 is none other than Becky Hammon (1,708).
With her 31 points and 16 rebounds, Wilson recorded her 100th career double-double, which ranks 6th in league history. Nneka Ogwumike is No. 5 with 109.
Wilson has now recorded 75 career games with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds, which ranks 3rd in WNBA history. Sylvia Fowles ranks No. 2 with 77 and Tina Charles tops the list with 102.
Tonight marked Wilson's 39th game with 25+ points and 10+ rebounds, which lists No. 2 in league history behind Tina Charles' 41, and she is No. 1 in WNBA history with 17 games of 30+ points and 10+ rebounds.
Wilson drew even with Tamika Catchings at No. 7 with 138 games with 20 or more points, Lauren Jackson is No. 6 with 139 such games, and tied Elena Delle Donne, also at No. 7, for games with games of 25 or more points (64). Angel McCoughtry is No. 6 with 65 games of 25 or more points.
Wilson extended her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to 52 games-the longest active streak in the league, and the 11th longest in WNBA history. The 10th longest is 53 (Aug. 18 2019-Aug. 17, 2021), which is owned by Wilson. She is the only player in league history with multiple double-digit scoring streaks of 50 or more games
Wilson now has 2,103 rebounds for her career which are the 29th most in WNBA history. Next up on the list is Chasity Melvin in 28th place with 2,117 boards.
Loyd, who scored 5 points, now has 5,541 points for her career and Wilson has 4,813, which rank No. 21 and No. 31 in WNBA history. Katie Douglas is No. 20 with 5,563 and Skylar Diggins is No. 30 with 4,822 points.
Liz Kitley scored her first WNBA point, a reverse layup with 18.3 seconds remaining in the game.
The Aces were without the services of Crystal Bradford (league suspension), Megan Gustafson (lower left leg) and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (pregnancy).
NEXT UP
The Aces travel to Connecticut for a Tuesday, May 20, clash with the Sun, which will air at 4 p.m. PT on Vegas 34. The Sun tips its season on Sunday, May 18, against the Mystics.
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