Wilson becomes Aces' all-time leading scorer in win over Wings

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A'ja Wilson scored 28 points and became the franchise's all-time leading scorer Sunday as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Dallas Wings 104-85.

Wilson also grabbed 10 rebounds, her 11th double-double of the season, a made 11 of 22 from the field, 3 of 4 from 3-point range. The No. 1 overall selection in the 2018 WNBA draft, has 4,301 career points and moved past Sophia Young-Malcolm (4,300).

Kelsey Plum added 23 points, Jackie Young scored 18 and Chelsea Gray 12 for the Aces.

Wilson and Plum had 13 points apiece on combined 10-of-18 shooting in the first half and scored the Aces’ final 11 points as they took a 51-48 halftime lead. Plum was fouled as she made a driving layup and hit the and-1 free throw to close the second quarter before Wilson hit a jumper and a 3 to open the second half and Alysha Clark hit a 3-pointer with 8:31 left in the third quarter that made it 60-48.

Dallas trimmed its deficit to a little as eight points on two occasions early in the fourth quarter — both after baskets by Odyssey Sims — but got no closer.

Sims led the Wings (5-17) with 25 points, her most in a WNBA game since she scored 26 for the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 17, 2021. Natasha Howard added 14 points and Arike Ogunbowale scored 13.

Sims — who made 28 appearances for the Wings last season, her second with the club — signed to a salary-cap hardship contract on June 25 due to injuries to Satou Sabally, Natasha Howard, and Maddy Siegrist. The 31-year-old scored 18 points in her first game back and helped end the Wings’ 11-game losing streak with a 94-88 win over the Minnesota Lynx.

Las Vegas (13-7), which had a six-game win streak snapped Friday night with a 98-93 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night, set a season high for points in a game and topped the 100-point plateau for the second time this season.

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