Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson missed Sunday’s game against the New York Liberty.
New York held on for a 75-71 victory in a rematch of last season’s WNBA Finals. Jackie Young had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds with the Liberty leading, 73-71. But Breanna Stewart blocked her layup attempt, sealing the victory for New York.
Wilson was not originally listed on the Aces’ injury list released Saturday but was ruled out hours before kickoff.
Aces head coach Becky Hammon told reporters before Sunday’s game that the 28-year-old center sprained her ankle in Friday’s game against the Connecticut Sun. Hammon said there are no long-term concerns about the injury, but that they are resting her and taking it one game at a time.
According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Wilson wore a running shoe on her right foot for Sunday’s game.
Becky Hammon says A’ja Wilson sprained her ankle on Friday. “We’ll see her status when she gets to Indiana.” Said they hope to give her some rest.
No worries long term after the imaging, “everything is basically clear.” She says they are taking it easy with her.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) September 8, 2024
The game is the first Wilson has missed this season; in fact, it was the first regular-season game she has missed in three seasons. The two-time MVP played and started all 36 regular-season games in 2022, and all 40 regular-season games in 2023.
The injury left the Aces without their leading point scorer for the game. Kelsey Plum led Las Vegas in scoring on Sunday with 25 points to go along with six assists and three rebounds. Young scored 12 points and Alysha Clark had 11 points and six rebounds. Stewart led the Liberty to victory with 21 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a game-sealing block.
Wilson, who is once again the favorite for the MVP award, has had a stellar year on both offense and defense, averaging 27.3 points and 11.9 rebounds, to go along with 1.9 steals and 2.7 blocks.
The Aces fell to 22-13 with the loss. They secured a playoff spot on Aug. 30 after beating the Atlanta Dream. New York improved to a league-best 29-6.
