A'ja Wilson scores career playoff high 38, Aces beat Sky 92-70 to sweep first-round series

National News

Sky Aces Basketball — Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson (22) takes a shot over Chicago Sky forward Alanna Smith (8) during the first half of Game 2 of a WNBA basketball playoff series game, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Mon, Sep 18, 2023 7:49 AM

AP

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A'ja Wilson scored a playoff career-high 38 points to help the defending-champion Las Vegas Aces finish off a first-round sweep of the Chicago Sky with a 92-70 victory on Sunday.

The Aces, who beat Chicago 87-59 in the first game of the best-of-3 series, will play either the No. 4 seed Dallas Wings or the fifth-seeded Atlanta Dream in the semifinals. Game 1 will be played in Las Vegas next Sunday. The Wings lead their series 1-0 with Game 2 on Tuesday in Dallas.

Wilson sank 15 of 23 shots from the floor and made 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. She added 16 rebounds for her first double-double this postseason — after notching six in last year's championship run — and three steals. Jackie Young pitched in with 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Alysha Clark totaled 14 points and six boards, while Kelsey Plum scored 10.

Wilson had 10 points, Young scored seven and Las Vegas took a 23-14 lead after one quarter and never looked back. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft had 19 points and nine rebounds by halftime and the Aces led 44-29. Las Vegas finished 5-0 against the eighth-seeded Sky this season.

Kahleah Copper had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Chicago. Dana Evans came off the bench to score 22. Marina Mabrey added 15 points.

The Sky shot 38.5% from the floor after a 33.3% effort in Game 1.

___ AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball