The Las Vegas Aces will aim to continue their sharp-shooting ways on Saturday afternoon when they visit the Chicago Sky.
The Aces (7-1) claimed their fifth straight victory in scintillating fashion on Monday, tying a WNBA record with 18 3-pointers in a 104-76 rout of the Los Angeles Sparks.
A’ja Wilson scored 16 of her 24 points in the first half and Western Conference Player of the Week Jackie Young finished with 19 for Las Vegas, which shot a robust 50.7 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from 3-point range.
“I’m demanding a lot of her,” Aces first-year coach Becky Hammon said of Wilson. “And to A’ja’s credit, she has been so unbelievably coachable, so unbelievably humble and so unbelievably good.”
Former No. 1 draft picks Young (2019) and Kelsey Plum (2017) pace the Aces in scoring by averaging 19.3 and 18.1 points per game, respectively. All five starters are averaging double-digit scoring for Las Vegas, which pours in a league-best 93.3 points per contest.
“It’s a comfortability thing. Becky has an environment set up where we’re a team,” Plum said. “She believes in all of us to make the right play.”
While the Aces are off to a fast start, the Sky (4-2) are putting the pieces together for a run of their own. Chicago picked up its fourth win in five games with a 95-90 victory over the struggling Indiana Fever on Tuesday.
Candace Parker followed up her second career triple-double in Sunday’s 82-73 win over the Washington Mystics with 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds on Tuesday. The two-time WNBA MVP and six-time All-Star averages team-best totals in points (14.3) and rebounds (7.7), while Courtney Vandersloot paces Chicago in assists (8.3).
Vandersloot admitted to being taken aback after watching the members of the team receive their 2021 WNBA championship rings on Tuesday.
“To see all the little details and the things that were unique to this team and that run, you can tell they put a lot of time in it,” Vandersloot said of seeing the championship rings for the first time. “It’s really special for us to all open it up and just enjoy it.”
