Defending champion Aces return to WNBA Finals, beat Wings to complete sweep
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ARLINGTON, Texas -- — A'ja Wilson had 13 points and 13 rebounds, including a tying layup late, and the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces advanced to the finals for the third time in four years, scoring the game's final 11 points to beat the Dallas Wings 64-61 on Friday night.
Alysha Clark made a tiebreaking free throw with 1:45 left. Jackie Young added two more free throws with 2 seconds remaining — after the Wings had missed two potential go-ahead shots — and Las Vegas completed a three-game sweep.
The Wings, hosting a semifinal game for the first time since the franchise moved from Tulsa to North Texas in 2016, had a 61-53 lead when Arike Ogunbowale made a running layup with 4:59 left. They didn't score again.
Ogunbowale, who finished with a game-high 18 points, came up short on a 3-pointer as time expired after Dallas was able to call timeout and get one more shot.
Even though Dallas was focused defensively on Wilson, ending her WNBA record string of three consecutive 30-point playoff games, the five-time All-Star still had a huge impact.
Wilson made a free throw with 2:56 left. Teammate Alysha Clark then rebounded after the second free throw was missed. The ball went to Chelsea Gray, who made a nifty pass to Wilson for the tying layup with 2:44 left.
Clark's free throw a minute later put the Aces ahead, and it was still a one-point margin when Gray made a drive toward the basket and when in the air decided to pass — the ball going into the stands for a turnover with a half-minute left.
Ogunbowale missed a 16-footer after a timeout and Wilson had the rebound before getting tied up for a jump ball in the free-throw circle near the Dallas basket. Teaira McCowan won the jump against Wilson and Dallas called another timeout with 9 seconds left. Natasha Howard missed a 3-pointer and Young was fouled by Ogunbowale when grabbing the rebound.
Gray finished with 15 points while Young and Kelsey Plum each had 11 for the Aces.
Natasha Howard added 14 points for the Wings, while Teaira McCowan had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
The Aces set a WNBA record with 34 wins during the regular season, with one of their six losses being against Dallas. They lost three times to New York, which has a 2-1 series lead over Connecticut — last season’s runner-up — in the other semifinal.
Las Vegas, led by second-year coach Becky Hammon, has won nine games in a row overall since it lost a regular-season game at New York on Aug. 28.
Wings forward Satou Sabally got her trophy before the game as the WNBA’s most improved player, but continued struggling in this series, scoring five points on 2-of-15 shooting. She finished 12 of 46 (26%) in the series after shooting at a 43.5% clip during the regular season.
Dallas had its biggest lead just before halftime when Ogunbowale made consecutive 3-pointers and assisted on another basket to make it 36-29.
That sequence began when Veronica Burton had a steal and handed it back to Ogunbowale, who got a friendly bounce up and through the rim to put the Wings ahead 31-29. She added another 3 after a miss by Wilson.
Gray made a fadeaway jumper going into halftime for Vegas, then made a 21-footer on the first shot of the second half. That was part of a quick 7-0 spurt that Gray finished with a 3-pointer for a 38-36 lead.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball