A’ja Wilson ties WNBA scoring record in Aces’ win

The Aces’ 112-100 win at the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday had been sealed for several minutes, but A’ja Wilson was still seeing triple teams.

Wilson had 49 points with less than a minute remaining, and the Dream were determined to prevent her from reaching 50.

But with 51.3 seconds remaining, Wilson was fouled by rookie forward Laeticia Amihere and went to the free-throw line.

She hit both free throws to reach 51 points. Three seconds later, Atlanta coach and former Aces assistant Tanisha Wright was ejected for arguing the foul, sending Wilson back to the line for two technical free throws and a chance to make the WNBA record book.

Wilson hit both to finish with 53 points in front of a sold-out crowd at Gateway Center Arena at College Park in Atlanta. Her performance tied the league’s single-game scoring record, set by Liz Cambage with the Dallas Wings against the New York Liberty on July 17, 2018.

“My teammates just found me in my spots, and I was just really aggressive,” Wilson said after the Aces improved to 29-4.

Wilson and guard Kelsey Plum held the franchise single-game scoring record with 40 points apiece, both players achieving the feat this season.

“She runs like a deer, jumps like a cat and catches like if she were Spiderman,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Wilson. “I don’t know what that is, but she is just special.”

Added Plum: “This is one of the greatest players of all time.”

Rhyne Howard had 27 points to lead the Dream (16-17), and Haley Jones scored 23 off the bench.

The Aces continue their road trip Thursday against the Chicago Sky.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

1. Wilson’s takeover

The reigning MVP was dominant from the start. She went 16 of 23 from the field and 20 of 21 from the free-throw line, and added seven rebounds and four blocks.

Wilson is the third player in WNBA history to score at least 50 points in a game, joining Cambage (53) and Riquna Williams (51). New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart had the previous highest scoring game this season with 45 points.

2. Third-quarter defense

The Aces led 56-55 at halftime. The Dream were missing All-Star guard Allisha Gray (ankle) and starting forward Nia Coffey (hand), but still had enough firepower to engage the Aces in a shootout.

Atlanta made 52.9 percent of its shots in the first half. Howard looked unstoppable with 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting.

But the Aces locked in defensively in the third quarter, holding Atlanta to 13 points and four field goals. Howard scored three in the period.

“We felt like we could do a better job cleaning up some of her coverages,” Hammon said.

3. Backcourt brilliance

Wilson and Hammon made a point to credit the rest of the team. Hammon singled out Plum and point guard Chelsea Gray for their command of the offense.

Plum scored 20 on 5-of-8 shooting to go with seven assists. Gray had 16 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds — one rebound short of her second triple double in three games. The Aces had 25 assists on 35 field goals.

“Chelsea and Kelsey were really good distributing the ball, getting downhill and making reads,” Hammon said.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.