Sportsnaut
Jackie Young led three Las Vegas scorers who scored at least 20 points apiece and the Aces shot better than 50 percent from the floor for much of the night en route to blowing out the visiting Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night.
Young finished with 23 points and six assists for Las Vegas (18-2), which took control in the second quarter, outscoring Phoenix 26-12 to take an 18-point lead into intermission of the Commissioner’s Cup matchup.
The Aces opened the second half with another run of 18-6 over the first 4:58 of the third quarter to lead by 30.
Chelsea Gray collected 21 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, and A’ja Wilson added 20 points and eight boards for Las Vegas. Young, Gray and Wilson combined to shoot 25-of-39 from the floor.
Coming off her franchise-record 40-point performance in Sunday’s win at Minnesota, Kelsey Plum chipped in 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Every Las Vegas player who saw the floor scored. Kiah Stokes rounded out the starters with seven points, and Cayla George — who scored three points off the bench — grabbed five rebounds in 16 minutes.
Phoenix (4-15) shot only 27-of-70 from the floor overall and 6-of-19 from 3-point range, compared to the Aces’ 9-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Michaela Onyenwere led the Mercury with 18 points off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting, while Brittney Griner added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Phoenix’s next three leading scorers — Diana Taurasi (11 points), Shey Peddy (10) and Moriah Jefferson (nine) — shot a combined 10-of-29.
Brianna Turner, who grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, scored two points on 1-of-4 shooting.
The Mercury have lost four of their last five games and 10 of 12.
–Field Level Media
