Kelsey Plum scored 28 points with six 3-pointers, Jackie Young added 20 points and 10 assists, and the Las Vegas Aces won their sixth game in a row, beating the Washington Mystics 98-77 on Thursday night.
Plum made 10 of 13 shots overall and hit 6 of 9 from beyond the arc for the Aces (12-6), who are the reigning champions for the past two years. Young recorded her second consecutive double-double and fourth of the season. A’ja Wilson, leading the league with an average of 27.0 points per game, contributed 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Off the bench, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough led Washington (5-16) with 19 points. Ariel Atkins scored 18 points, and Emily Engstler added 10 points along with eight rebounds, the most for her team.
Alysha Clark scored four points consecutively for the Aces with a basket and two free throws, and A’ja Wilson made a layup, leading to a six-point lead, 23-20, after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Walker-Kimbrough scored two free throws, putting the Mystics ahead 26-25 with 7:16 remaining. Plum then scored back-to-back 3-pointers and added a third one during an 18-3 run that gave the Aces a 43-29 advantage. At halftime, the Aces led 48-35.
With a layup by Young, the Las Vegas lead extended to 67-47 with 4:25 left in the third quarter. Plum hit two consecutive 3-pointers, increasing the lead to 30 points less than three minutes later.
This game was the second meeting between the teams in three games. The Aces previously defeated the Mystics 88-77 on Saturday.
Washington, in the midst of four consecutive road games, has improved to 5-4 since losing the first 12 games of the season.
