A’ja Wilson ties playoff career high with 38 as Aces advance

Las Vegas – A’ja Wilson made almost all the big shooting of the Las Vegas he needed in his 74-73 victory, the series of the series against the Seattle storm on Thursday. But on one of the shots she missed, her teammate Jackie Young was in the right place at the right time.

With the aces trailled by one with 15.1 seconds to play, the visual stroke of Wilson rebounded on the rim, but Young read it perfectly. She jumped to grab the rebound and pulled it before landing, which was the difference with 12.4 seconds to play.

Young said she knew she couldn’t come back with the ball before shooting it because she was surrounded by bigger players from Seattle and was sure they would block it. She had to do it in a continuous movement, the kind of game that Young has made since her high school days in Indiana and the university career in Our Lady.

Wilson equaled his career in the playoffs with 38 points in the victory, which sent the seeded n ° 2 Las Vegas to the semi-finals of the WNBA, where he will face fever n ° 6 of Indiana. Match 1 is in Las Vegas on Sunday (ABC, 3 p.m. HE).

“We managed to crush the boards, and Jack was in time with that one,” said Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, about Young, who finished with 14 points. “Jackie is a basketball player. She knows how to play games, how to move without the ball. She knows how to make things happen.”

After the Aces crushed Seattle 102-77 when opening the best of the three series here on Sunday, little expected that there was a match 3. But the storm extended the series with an 86-83 victory in Seattle Tuesday which ended the sequence of 17 AS games.

Thursday, the storm fell below the end of the AS season. The Seattle goalkeeper, Erica Wheeler, had a glance open on the franc launch line with 5 seconds on the left which struck the back of the edge. The guardian of the Skylar Diggins storm rushed to the rebound and went to his teammate Gabby Williams, who could not have a blow before the buzzer.

A match that had only two changes in the lead in the first 38 minutes, 45 seconds had four in the last 75 seconds. The frantic end caused a strong celebration to Michelob Ultra Arena. But as Wilson said, the work is far from over. The AS qualified for the WNBA semi-finals for the seventh consecutive season and are looking for their third league championship.

“It’s just going to go to play our way and in the right way,” said Wilson.

The aces did not do this often earlier this season. They was 14-14 years old on August 2, but no longer lost before Tuesday. Las Vegas faced Indiana once in June, a victory, then twice in July, the two losses.

“They have not yet seen the real ASs. They caught us when we were a little in the troubles,” said Hammon, referring to the defeat of AS 81-54 to fever on July 3. “They crimured us one of these [games]. I know that everyone is super excited this evening – which I am too – but I have to put our helmets and prepare these guys and prepare what will follow. “”