A’ja Wilson scored 32 points and tied a career-high with 20 rebounds to become the first player in WNBA history with 30-plus points and at least 20 rebounds in a game as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 94-86 on Sunday night.
A three-time league Most Valuable Player including last season, Wilson posted her third double-double in the last four games and third consecutive outing with at least 27 points. With 36 seconds remaining in the game, she grabbed her 20th board to match the personal record she established in July 2024 at Seattle. Her Las Vegas teammates led the home crowd in applause for the milestone.
“It’s just A’ja being A’ja,” said Aces coach Becky Hammon. “She probably could have had one of these in the past. I never let her really go to the offensive glass this year, where we’ve been emphasizing that more.”
Las Vegas gave up 31 first-quarter points, then another 14 less than five minutes through the second period to fall behind 45-33. But they regrouped, holding Connecticut (5-25) without a point for the next 5:45 during a 12-0 run to draw the score even by halftime. The defensive tenacity carried over into the second half. Las Vegas surrendered as many points in the second and third quarters combined as they allowed in the opening period, in the process flipping the early, double-digit point deficit into a double-digit point lead by the late third.
“It’s huge,” Wilson said. “I didn’t even know, as many greats as we have in this league, it’s kind of a shocker that it’s just now happening. It’s a blessing. I love what I do. I love what I do. I love it so much, so anytime that I can come out and just play basketball the way that I love it, and the team, and we’re all getting involved – I’m happy with that.”
Wilson’s heroics bolstered the Aces on a day when three of the five starters failed to score more than seven points. Jackie Young was the exception with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor. Young also dished six assists to match Chelsea Gray’s game-high total. Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans helped pick up some of the offensive slack with 12 and 10 points off the bench.
The loss dropped Connecticut to 0-3 on their current road swing, which concludes on Monday in San Francisco against Golden State.