Wilson’s 3rd-quarter clinic helps Aces rout Sun in Connecticut

A’ja Wilson clapped her hands together as she flashed a wide smile, a rare on-court sight amid the Aces’ 9-9 start.

The three-time WNBA MVP was reacting to the clinic she’d just put together on both ends of the floor. It started with an emphatic block on Connecticut Sun center Olivia Nelson-Ododa, followed by a made 3-pointer at the other end. Then Wilson stole the ball from guard Bria Hartley on defense and scored on a spinning fadeaway.

The Sun called a full timeout in response, but it was too late. Wilson’s heroics put the Aces up 17 points late in the third quarter, and the team went on to win 86-68 on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Coach Becky Hammon described the victory as “just a good bounce-back game” that erased the taste of Thursday’s blowout loss to the Indiana Fever, who were without injured star Caitlin Clark.

Wilson scored more points than the rest of her teammates combined against Indiana. She had a much lighter load Sunday. She finished with 19 points, while guard Dana Evans scored a season-high 18 points off the bench. Guard Jackie Young added 14 points.

“We got embarrassed against Indiana, so we understood that we didn’t want to go down that road anymore,” Wilson said. “For this game, and hopefully moving forward, we find our joy in the game.”

Veteran center Tina Charles had 11 points for the Sun (2-16), who lost their 10th straight.

“The defense was there. And that’s what I’m preaching every night,” Hammon said. “So really good job to hold a team, any team in this league, under 70 points.”

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Gray passes Hammon

Point guard Chelsea Gray finished with six points and eight assists, moving her ahead of Hammon for sixth place on the WNBA’s all-time assists leaderboard with 1,710.

Gray passed Hammon after making a perfect feed to Wilson in the corner. Wilson then scored and drew a foul, but both Gray and Hammon didn’t realize at the time what the play meant.

“It’s a good feeling, man, and it’s a testament to the years of my career and what I’ve been able to do and sustain at a high level and win,” said Gray, who added she planned to “tease” Hammon on the bus.

Hammon, who played 16 seasons in the WNBA, was ready with a joke of her own, saying someone should have told her Gray was close to passing her so she could have taken her out of the game.

“By the time this thing is all said and done, we’re not gonna be talking about anything I did,” Hammon said. “So I’m happy for Chelsea. She deserves it. She’s gonna pass a couple other people, too.”

The next player in front of Gray, 32, is Lindsay Whalen (2,345 assists). Sue Bird holds the all-time WNBA record (3,234).

2. Smith starts

Forward NaLyssa Smith, who joined the Aces on June 30 via trade, started for her new team for the first time and recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Hammon had said she might change the starting lineup after the team’s “unprofessional” showing against the Fever.

Veteran center Kiah Stokes moved to the bench Sunday for the first time this season and finished with two points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.

“(Smith) is a very fast learner. We are throwing her in the fire. … Now, granted, she’s stealing my rebounds, so we’ll have to talk about that one,” Wilson said. “We’re grateful to have her. We’re gonna continue to show her how valuable she is to this team.”

3. Young selected to All-Star Game

Young was selected by the WNBA’s coaches as an All-Star reserve, the league announced Sunday.

She will join Wilson, who is a starter, at the event. The Aces had four All-Stars last season. Young is averaging 17.3 points per game this season, second-most on the team and 13th-most in the WNBA.

“I’m asking (Young) to score 18 to 20 (points). I’m asking her to give six to seven assists. I’m asking her to guard the other team’s best player. So she does a whole lot for us, and quite frankly, she does it at a really high level,” Hammon said. “You never want to take for granted the things that they really do great. … There’s no doubt Jackie is one of the best two-way players in the league.”

Hammon said guard Jewell Loyd, like Young, has flown under the radar at times. Hammon said she wasn’t concerned after Loyd scored three points on 1-for-9 shooting Sunday while adding six rebounds and two steals.

“She’s doing a lot of other things that are helping us win basketball games,” Hammon said.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.