Aces star hits clutch basket to down Sky: ‘We needed this win’

Chennedy Carter is nicknamed “Hollywood” for a reason. But it was A’ja Wilson who stole the show in the Aces’ 77-75 win over the Sky on Sunday at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena.

Carter tied the game with a stunning 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining. That was enough time for the Aces to come up with a response.

Coach Becky Hammon called a full timeout. Point guard Chelsea Gray then inbounded the ball with a laser pass to Wilson from the sideline. Guard Kelsey Plum set a crucial screen on Sky rookie Angel Reese, giving Wilson a mismatch against Lindsay Allen.

Wilson, who said she saw the shadow of Gray’s pass before it actually entered her field of view, put up a shot over Allen immediately after catching the ball. It went in. Wilson kept a straight face as her teammates screamed and ran to hug her in celebration.

“This is what we’re supposed to do. This is the game. This is the entertainment. This is what you guys came to see,” Wilson said of her thought process.

Wilson’s clutch bucket came at the end of a frustrating game. She went just 8 of 28 from the field, but finished with a team-high 20 points and 18 rebounds in the victory.

Wilson missed a lot of shots early. She was 3 of 13 from the field in the first quarter and scored eight points. Tiffany Hayes was the only other Aces player to score in the period as the team trailed 17-12.

Wilson’s shooting struggles continued into the third quarter. She said the shots she missed were wide open and jokingly blamed the “basketball gods,” saying they were trying to teach her a lesson.

Chicago (11-18) was led by Carter’s 25 points. Reese had 11 points and a season-high 22 rebounds for her 22nd double-double of the season, tied with Tina Charles for the most by a rookie in WNBA history. Reese also became the first player in league history to grab at least 20 rebounds in three consecutive games.

Plum added 18 points for the Aces (18-11). Center Megan Gustafson scored 13 in her first start for the team.

Hammon has been rotating through starters next to the Aces’ “Core Four” of Wilson, Gray, Plum and guard Jackie Young. Veteran Alysha Clark started the team’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Friday in place of center Kiah Stokes, the club’s fifth starter most of the year.

The pivot to Gustafson paid off. She was 3 of 5 from 3-point range Sunday. Her first two 3s, which came on consecutive possessions in the third quarter and gave the Aces a 40-34 lead, were also her team’s first two 3s of the game.

Gustafson made only one of her two 3-point attempts in her 135-game collegiate career at Iowa. She said she has since “reinvented” her game to find success in the WNBA.

The Aces shot 38 percent (31 of 81) from the field overall and 25 percent from 3-point range (6 of 24).

Hammon said the team was lucky to come out with the tense win. Plum was given a technical foul with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter after yelling at the officials for not calling a foul during her drive to the basket for a layup.

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon drew a technical foul of her own 1:47 into the fourth quarter. Plum made the free throw to complete a 12-0 run for the Aces that gave them a 60-52 lead.

The team led by as many as 13 points in the final frame, but Hammon said she wasn’t concerned that Chicago stormed back to tie the game.

“You can’t take away everything,” Hammon said. “We’re willing to live with Chennedy Carter shooting 3s. It’s better than her getting in the paint, finishing and drawing contact and doing what she does. You always want to make people try to beat you with their second and third moves, not their first moves.”

The Aces complete their three-game road trip against the Dallas Wings on Tuesday. They’ll return to Las Vegas to face the Atlanta Dream on Friday.

“I think this game showed our hunger and our relentlessness,” Wilson said. “We needed this win, and I’m glad we got it done.”

Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.