A’ja Wilson too much as Aces hand Sparks fourth straight loss

A’ja Wilson and the Aces finally earned a victory against the Sparks this season, handing LA their fourth-straight defeat.

A’ja Wilson added another bullet point to her MVP candidacy with 34 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday, helping the Aces to their first win of the season against the Sparks, 87-71.

It was a slow game for Dearica Hamby, who has had big nights against the Aces this season. On Sunday, she ended with 13 points on 4-12 shooting, 11 rebounds and four steals.

Kia Nurse had another great game with 12 points. Rickea Jackson grabbed five rebounds with her 15 points. Rae Burrell and Crystal Dangerfield each scored nine points.

The Sparks came out with great energy, as they’ve done all season, against the Aces. Each team knocked down their shots, but Las Vegas played hard defensively to make LA fight for their points.

It was a fast-paced game with both teams swapping the lead. The Sparks had balanced scoring and had knocked down three of their seven attempts from behind the arc. It was a tied game at the end of a very physical first quarter.

Talbot opened up the scoring in the second period. The Sparks kept their energy up and battled hard with the Aces. LA was shooting 45% from behind the arc with Nurse draining a pair.

Las Vegas grabbed their largest lead of seven with three minutes left in the half. The offense slowed for LA, leading to the Aces establishing momentum. Los Angeles managed to keep the Aces from opening up a bigger lead remained within seven at halftime.

The Aces started the second half on a 5-0 run to immediately build an even bigger lead. Their defense was proving to be a huge problem for the Sparks. Hamby was having a rough go and couldn’t find an easy shot to get her into the game.

Jackson was the second player to reach double digits in scoring for LA as she and Nurse were carrying the offensive load. A quick 4-0 run and great defense helped the Sparks cut the deficit to three.

Las Vegas quickly went back up by seven on the shoulders of A’ja Wilson, who was shining. The Sparks struggled heavily and the Las Vegas extended their lead to 12 at the end of the third.

The offensive woes continued for the Sparks into the fourth. Although they were struggling, they were still battling hard. This young Sparks team kept sticking around no matter how well the Aces were playing.

It was a 10-point game with 3:41 left. After having such a strong first half, Nurse had slowed down significantly with her scoring. A 3-pointer by Plum at the 1:55 mark was the dagger.

Key Takeaways:

The Sparks have had too many games this season where they start great and then continue to fizzle throughout each quarter. Tonight’s game was exactly that. They need to find a way to keep their offense flowing.

The 21 turnovers they had were unacceptable.

The bench did show up this game with 20 points, a great positive to build on.

The Sparks’ next game will be against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday at 4:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.