A’ja Wilson scored 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while Tiffany Hayes added 20 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Las Vegas Aces to a 83-72 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Friday night. This win secured a playoff spot for the two-time defending champions.
Kelsey Plum contributed 18 points and four assists for the Aces (18-12), who are now tied with the Seattle Storm for fourth place in the WNBA standings.
For the Dream (10-21), Allisha Gray scored 17 points but they are still one game behind Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot after their fourth consecutive loss.
Rhyne Howard had 23 points but struggled with her shooting, hitting only 4 of 19 shots and just 1 of 10 from inside the arc. Jordin Canada added 10 points.
Chelsea Gray scored only four points for Las Vegas, but they were crucial in the final minutes. She made a steal and then hit a pull-up jumper to put the Aces up 77-67 with under three minutes remaining.
The Dream cut the lead to seven, but Gray scored again with a fadeaway jumper to make it 81-72 with 1:05 left.
Hayes scored 10 points in the first quarter, helping the Aces take a 22-18 lead, and Wilson added 14 points by halftime, giving Las Vegas a 44-38 lead.
