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via Getty

via Getty

Last year’s Commissioner’s Cup runners-up, the Las Vegas Aces have made a winning start to this year’s campaign. In their fiesty road encounter against the Dallas Wings, the back-to-back WNBA champions secured a comfortable 95-81 victory. However, the night proved to be a historic occasion for the 2023 WNBA Finals MVP A’ja Wilson. The 27-year-old ripped apart the Wing’s defense single-handily by registering 36 points, 14 rebounds and 6 steals next to her name. Consequently, this makes her the first female athlete to pull off at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals in a game in the WNBA. Anyhow, the fixture also proved to be a somewhat bloody affair for the dynamic Aces No.22.

Just on the brink of half-time, A’ja Wilson was in mid-air trying to score a layup. At this time, she was knocked down by Dallas’ No. 25 Monique Billings. While it was deemed a clean block even after review, this resulted in Wilson suffering from a bleeding cut on her nose.

Following the game, Wilson reflected on how the game went down for her. She said, “My teammates just kept me afloat. It’s frustrating. We’re not begging for calls. You just want the right call. And we didn’t get it. But, that’s okay. We’re gonna keep playing. We’ll keep pushing. One thing about our locker room is that we’re not gonna back down. We’re not expecting to get anything. We’ll have to go out there and take everything.”  

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Despite all this, it didn’t stop A’ja Wilson and the rest of the Aces from slaying a supreme exhibition on the hardwood.

A’ja Wilson helps the Aces assert dominance

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The phenomenal double-double by the 6 ft 4 in power forward was indeed the talking point in Las Vegas victory. Seemingly, A’ja Wilson put 12 out of the opening 20 points for the Aces in the opening quarter of the game. Then, she was instrumental in the enormous 20-point gap over the visitors at one point before the halfway mark. Then, she also helped the team in closing the game by keeping the pressure on at crucial points.

Anyhow, her impressive scorecard wasn’t the only talking point of the game. Wilson had a phenomenal shooting night by garnering 15 out of her 22 field goals alongside converting one three-pointer. Something similar was witnessed from the free throw line with 5 of her 6 attempts ending in the back of the basket.

Indeed, it was a gritty show put up by the Ace’s Kingpin. Fans are glad that A’ja Wilson has picked up things where she left last season. It will be enticing to see what else she has in store in the upcoming days.

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Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.