A’ja Wilson scored 31 points, Jackie Young had 22 and Kelsey Plum added 21 as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Chicago Sky 95-83 on Thursday night at Wintrust Arena despite rookie Angel Reese’s ninth straight double-double.
Reece’s 18-point, 11-rebound night tied her with Candace Parker for the WNBA’s longest streak of double-doubles in a season. Parker did it in 2015 and had a streak of 12 across two seasons (2009-10).
Wilson scored 15 points in the first quarter, Young had 12 in the third and Plum added 16 in the fourth. It was the 18th 30-point game of Wilson’s career and 12th this season with at least 25.
Olympian Chelsea Gray, in her third game back from injury that coincides with the Aces’ three-game winning streak, had another solid game with eight points, six rebounds and five assists. Kiah Stokes had six of the 11 blocks for the Aces (9-6), who had five more 3-pointers and made nine more free throws than the Sky.
Marina Mabrey scored 21 points to lead the Sky (6-10) but had only eight after the first quarter. Chennedy Carter added 20 points.
Plum scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to push the Aces’ lead to 79-63. Reese had nine points in the quarter to keep it respectable for for the Sky, who had won two straight.
Mabrey hit all five of her shots and scored 13 points in the first quarter to help the Sky take a 25-21 lead.
Young, scoreless in the first quarter, had eight in the second as the Aces outscored the Sky 25-14 for a 46-39 halftime lead. Wilson had 23 at the break, extending her league-record streak for 20 points in regular-season games to 20. The Sky shot 58% in the first quarter, 29% in the second.
The Sky quickly tied the game with seven straight points — five by Mabrey — to start the second half and took a 61-60 lead when Kamilla Cardoso hit from short range. In the last three minutes the Aces turned a four-point lead into a 72-63 lead entering the fourth quarter.
