A’ja Wilson leads Aces past Fever to end three-game losing streak

By Canadian Press on June 22, 2025.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 24 points in a battle with cold-shooting Caitlin Clark on Sunday to lead the Aces to an 89-81 victory over the Indiana Fever and stop a three-game Las Vegas skid.

Wilson, the reigning MVP, was one of five Aces in double figures. Jackie Young scored 19 points and Chelsea Gray finished with 18.

Aliyah Boston scored 26 points for the Fever, including 18 in the first half. Clark, last season’s Rookie of the Year, had 19 points and 11 assists but shot just 1 of 10 from 3-point range. She’s 1 for 17 from deep over her last two games.

Kelsey Mitchell added 20 points for Indiana.

Wilson and Clark struggled early, combining to shoot 2 of 15 midway through the second quarter.

The game was even at 69-69 in the fourth quarter when the Aces outscored Indiana 9-2 to go ahead for good.

The Aces, who won their second WNBA championship in a row just two years ago and expected to contend again this season, entered having lost five of six. Beating the Fever could get Las Vegas heading in the right direction. Indiana is 2-3 over its last five.

Going back to last season, the Aces are 5-0 against the Fever. The teams will meet twice in Indianapolis later this season.

The game was down Las Vegas Boulevard at T-Mobile Arena to accommodate a larger crowd than the Aces’ usual home, Michelob Ultra Arena. Las Vegas usually has rowdy fans, but as expected, many spectators wore Clark shirts and jerseys.

Indiana’s DeWanna Bonner missed her fourth consecutive game for personal reasons. Coach Stephanie White returned to the bench after missing the Fever’s previous game at Golden State, also for personal reasons.

DREAM 93, SKY 80

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored 22 points, Allisha Gray added 19 and Brionna Jones had 13 points and 11 rebounds to help Atlanta beat Chicago.

Rookie Te-Hina Paopao hit a career-high five 3-pointers and tied her season high with 16 points for Atlanta and Naz Hillmon scored 12.

Angel Reese had 10 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Sky, a day after finishing with nine points and a career-low two rebounds in a 107-86 loss to Phoenix. Ariel Atkins scored a season-high 29 points and Elizabeth Williams added a season-best 16.

Atlanta has won five of six and nine of 11.

The Dream hit five 3s — two by Paopao and one apiece by Gray, Howard and Hillmon — in a four-minute span to take an 84-75 lead with 4:35 left in the game. Howard made a wide-open corner 3 with 1:09 left and Jordin Canada hit two free throws with 41 seconds left to make it 91-80.

Each team shot 42% from the field but the Dream hit 16 of 33 (49%) from 3-point range while Chicago made 4 of 15 from behind the arc.

Chicago (3-10) has lost three consecutive games and six of seven.

MYSTICS 91, WINGS 88, OT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rookie Sonia Citron scored a season-high 27 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 12.2 seconds left in overtime, Shakira Austin added 21 points and Washington beat Dallas.

Citron made 9 of 13 from the field, hit a career-best four 3-pointers and had a season-high 11 rebounds. Fellow rookie Kiki Iriafen had 19 points and seven rebounds to go with career highs of six assists and five steals for the Mystics. Sug Sutton added 15 points.

Austin got the ball in the post and kicked it out to Citron for a wide open tiebreaking corner 3 with 12.2 seconds remaining.

Rookie Aziaha James, who finished with 11 points, made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to cut the Dallas deficit to 83-81 with 17 seconds left. Citron split a pair of foul shots on the other end before rookie Paige Bueckers hit a catch-and-shoot 3 off an inbounds pass from James to make it 84-all with 11 seconds left in regulation.

The Mystics led by as many as 16 points in the first half and Dallas had a 10-point lead early in the third quarter.

Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 27 points and Bueckers added 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

STORM 89, LIBERTY 79

SEATTLE (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike scored 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting, Skylar Diggins added 20 points and Seattle beat defending WNBA champion New York.

Seattle (9-5) has won three games in a row and six of seven.

New York (10-3) has lost back-to-back road games and three of four overall. The Liberty committed a season-high 21 turnover, which Seattle converted into 22 points.

Gabby Williams had 12 points, a career-high 10 assists, six rebounds and four steals. Williams had her first career double-double last time out in a 90-83 win over Las Vegas on Friday.

Williams nearly had the ball stripped but secured it and nearly threw it away but Ogwumike made a finger-tip catch and hit a 3 just before the shot clock expired to give Seattle an 85-79 lead with 1:30 left in the game.

Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 18 points.

VALKYRIES 87, SUN 63

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kayla Thornton had 21 points and eight rebounds, Tiffany Hayes scored 14 points and Golden State beat Connecticut.

Connecticut (2-12) has lost six straight.

Laeticia Amihere had 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds — her first career double-double — for Golden State (7-6). The Valkyries, who beat Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever 88-77 on Thursday, have won five of six. The Sun’s 63 points were the fewest Golden State has allowed in a game this season.

Chloe Bibby scored 11 points, Veronica Burton added 10 and Stephanie Talbot grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds to go with six points and four assists.

Golden State set a franchise record for points in a quarter with 36 — including 14 by Thornton — in the second. The Valkyries made 10 of 18 from the field and 12 of 14 from the free-throw line, where Thornton was 7 of 7, and turned four offensive rebounds into seven second-chance points. Connecticut scored 12 points of 4-of-16 shooting in the quarter and trailed 59-32 at halftime.

The Associated Press