COLUMBIA, SC (May 11, 2024)—Behind hometown hero A’ja Wilson’s 27 points and 14 rebounds, the Las Vegas Aces dispatched Puerto Rico 102-50 in front of 13,507 fans in a preseason exhibition game at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. Also scoring in double figures for the Aces were Kelsey Plum (20 points) and Megan Gustafson (17).
Box Score | Photos | Highlights
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 29, Puerto Rico 13)
After Puerto Rico banked a 3 to knot the game at 9-all at 5:52. Plum scored the game’s next 9 points in an 11-0 run for a 20-9 lead at 2:47. After another Puerto Rico 3-pointer, the Aces outscored the islanders 9-1 to close the period up 29-13. Plum’s 9 points led the Aces and no player had more than 3 points for Puerto Rico.
Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 59, Puerto Rico 22)
Puerto Rico got the first bucket of the second stanza before the Aces reeled off 14-straight from four different players for a 43-15 lead at 6:09. From there, the Aces outscored their opponents 16-7 for a 59-22 halftime lead. Wilson scored 12 points.
Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 73, Puerto Rico 31)
The Aces expanded their lead to 73-25 before Puerto Rico hit back-to-back 3s for the final points of the third quarter. In all, the Aces won the period 14-9 thanks to 8 points from Wilson and 6 from Plum.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 102, Puerto Rico 50)
The Aces rested their starters in the final quarter, which saw five different players score 26 points for the Aces in the final quarter, led by 13 from Gustafson.
KEY STATS
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The Aces outrebounded Puerto Rico 46-28.
Las Vegas scored 19 points off of 17 Puerto Rico turnovers, while giving up just 7 points off of their own 14 miscues.
Puerto Rico was held to 28.1% from the field overall and 23.1% from 3-point range, while the Aces hit on 51.5% of their field goals, including 28.1% from afar.
GAME NOTES
The game was a homecoming for Wilson, who not only is from the Columbia area, she also starred at South Carolina for four years and helped the program claim its first NCAA Championship in 2017.
Wilson’s 27 points came 7 points shy of tying the most she ever scored at Colonial Life Arena. She had 34 points against Notre Dame on Nov. 26, 2017. The 27 points tied the fourth-most she has scored on her collegiate home court.
NEXT UP
Las Vegas tips off the 2024 regular season with a 7 pm PT tip time vs. Phoenix at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Tuesday, May 14. The Aces will receive their 2023 WNBA Championship rings and raise their championship banner to the rafters prior to tip.