PHOENIX — A'ja Wilson scored 41 points on 16-of-23 shooting and grabbed 17 rebounds, Jackie Young added 11 points and a career-best 14 assists, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury 97-79 on Sunday.
Wilson, who scored a season-high 42 points in a 93-90 loss to Dallas on Tuesday, exceeded 40 points for the second time in three games.
Kelsey Plum finished with 16 points and five assists and Tiffany Hayes scored 11 points for the Aces (20-12), who have won back-to-back games for the first time since winning four straight from July 7-14.
Brittney Griner led Phoenix (16-17) with 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Sophie Cunningham made 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points, and Kahleah Copper scored 15.
Las Vegas shot 56% (37 of 66) from the field, hit 11 3-pointers and finished with 32 assists.
The Mercury missed their first six field-goal attempts and committed three turnovers as Las Vegas jumped to an 11-2 lead when Young hit a 3-pointer with 5:25 left in the first quarter. Griner sandwiched back-to-back baskets in the paint around a 3-pointer by Plum before Wilson scored six consecutive points to make it 20-6 with three minutes to go and the Aces led by double figures the rest of the way.
Phoenix committed six turnovers, shot just 4 of 15 from the field and was outscored 15-10 in the first quarter by Wilson alone as the Aces took a 19-point lead into the second period.
Taurasi, Cloud suspended
The Mercury will be without two of their top players when they take on the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday. Both Diana Taurasi and Natasha Cloud received technical fouls in Sunday's game, which brings their season total to seven, which triggers an automatic one-game suspension for both players, unless the WNBA decides to rescind the technical fouls.
Both players will face further suspensions for every two technical fouls called on them for the rest of the season.
Cloud was called for a technical foul in the second quarter on Sunday and Taurasi was called for one in the third quarter.
This will be the third time in Taurasi's career that she will be suspended for reaching the technical foul limit. She also reached the limit in 2013, 2016 and 2018.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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