LAS VEGAS, Nev. – On annual Cancer Awareness Night, the Las Vegas Aces (24-11) defeated the Washington Mystics (19-14), 83-76, Thursday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The Aces became the second team to clinch a playoff spot, marking their eighth-straight postseason berth.

Jackie Young led the field with a game-high 32 points, just three points shy of her WNBA career-high, on 71.4 percent shooting, and dished out five assists. A’ja Wilson tallied 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Jewell Loyd chipped in 13 points off the bench. Washington’s Shakira Austin led the Mystics with a team-high 29 points and eight rebounds, followed by 17 points and eight assists from Sonia Citron.

First Quarter (Las Vegas 25, Washington 16):

Young got the Aces on the board first and scored 10 in an early 14-4 Aces lead just over the halfway point of the opening stanza. The Mystics brought the game to within six points, 22-16, but Young’s buzzer-beating triple brought the lead back up to nine points to end the opening frame. Washington’s seven total turnovers led to nine Las Vegas points in the first. The Aces held Washington to 7-for-17 (.412) from the floor and 2-for-4 from three-point, while shooting 52.9 percent (9-for-17) on their end. They shot 2-for-7 from beyond the arc, but sank all five of their free throw attempts. Young led the field with 15 points, while no Mystics player scored more than five points.

Second Quarter (Las Vegas 38, Washington 32):

Las Vegas missed its first-seven shot attempts, allowing Washington to string together an 8-0 spurt to cut the deficit to a single point with just over six minutes to go. Wilson finally halted the run with a made free throw and a bucket for a 28-24 lead. The Aces hung on to a six-point lead to end the second quarter after Mai Yamamoto scored the half’s last points with four makes at the free-throw line. The Aces shot a poor 21.4 percent (3-for-14) overall, while the opposition connected on 50 percent of their attempts. Both teams shot a combined 3-for-12 (.250) from three-point range. Austin and Citron scored five points for the Mystics, while Yamamoto’s 4 led the Aces.

Third Quarter (Las Vegas 58, Washington 55):

Las Vegas extended its lead back to double digits after four points from Wilson to start the second half, but Washington quickly responded by scoring the next-nine points, cutting it to a single point once again. After the Aces scored the next five, the Mystics scored eight-unanswered points to take their first lead of the game, 49-47, at the 3:07 mark. After a free throw by Wilson, Las Vegas regained the lead on a Loyd three-pointer to make it 51-49, and then stayed in front for the rest of the quarter. The Aces finished the third quarter shooting 40 percent (6-for-15) from the floor and 50 percent (3-for-6) of their attempts from beyond the arc. Washington connected on 57.1 percent (8-for-14) of their overall attempts and knocked down both of its two three-point attempts. Wilson led the field with 10 points, while Austin topped out with eight points for the visitors.

Fourth Quarter (Las Vegas 83, Washington 76):

After the game was tied up at 62-all early in the quarter, Young scored all 12 points of an Aces’ 12-2 run over a one-minute-and-52-second span to balloon the lead back to double figures, 74-64. The Aces remained in command the rest of the way and prevented Washington from gaining any substantial momentum. Las Vegas netted 46.2 percent from the field and shot 3-for-4 from deep, while Washington hit on 56.2 percent of its attempts, but only shot 1-for-5 from three-point range. Austin led all scorers with 14, while Young tallied 12.

Key Stats:

The game had two lead changes, both of which came in the third quarter, and three knotted scores, two in the third and one in the fourth.

Las Vegas was held to 22 points in the paint – their second-lowest scoring output from that area this season (20 on June 20 against Golden State). The Aces, however, recorded their third-best free-throw shooting night, hitting 92.6 percent of their attempts (with the top free-throw shooting game coming when they shot 94.4 percent on Aug. 8 against Minnesota).

The Aces have now hit at least 10 three-pointers in four of their last-six games.

The Mystics held the lead for just 19 seconds in the third quarter.

Chelsea Gray’s five assists led to 13 points, Young’s five led to 12 points, and Wilson’s four led to 10 points.

Game Notes:

The Aces became the second team in 2026 to clinch a playoff spot after Thursday’s victory.

Gray has dished out at least four assists in a league-leading 22-straight games.

Young is just the fourth player in WNBA history to record a 30-point game on 70 percent field-goal shooting, with at least five 3-pointers, at least five assists and no more than one turnover.

Young (749) entered the game needing just one made free throw to reach 750 for her career. She shot 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the game.

Loyd’s one steal broke a tie with Sophia Young-Malcolm for sole possession of No. 29 on the league’s all-time list.

Young has now scored 20 points in each of her last-five games and nine of her last 10.

Wilson has scored in double figures a league-leading 56-consecutive games.

Thursday’s game marked the Aces’ 62nd-straight sellout at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Las Vegas was without the services of Kierstan Bell (personal), Dana Evans (left leg) and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (concussion protocol).

—

v. Minnesota (August 15):

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – After shooting 1-for-10 to open the third quarter, the Las Vegas Aces (24-12) fought back from a pair of 10-point deficits but could not bridge the gap and eventually dropped a 92-87 contest to the Minnesota Lynx (29-7) on Saturday evening. A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 32 points and added seven rebounds. NaLyssa Smith notched a 17-point-and-12-rebound double-double. Chelsea Gray finished just shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine assists. Jewell Loyd added 10 points, and Jackie Young chipped in with eight points and dished out nine assists. Six Lynx scored in double figures, led by 23 points from Olivia Miles.

First Quarter (Minnesota 23, Las Vegas 19):

The Aces jumped out to a 5-0 lead and remained in front for the first six minutes of the period, before Minnesota knotted the score at 14-all. With less than two minutes left in the quarter, the game was again tied up (18-18). The Lynx converted an “And-One” to go ahead 21-18 and held the lead through the end of the frame. Las Vegas shot just 38.9 percent from the field, including 2-for-7 from deep, and assisted on all seven of its made buckets. Minnesota connected on 55.6 percent of its tries and shot 2-for-5 behind the arc. Wilson and Natasha Howard led their respective teams with nine points apiece.

Second Quarter (Las Vegas 48, Minnesota 48):

Minnesota increased their lead to seven points with a triple right out of the gate, but the Aces drew it back with the help of a 6-2 run by Smith. Following another Lynx three-pointer that left the score 31-25, the Aces strung together eight-straight points for a 33-31 edge. Through the remaining six minutes of the half there were seven ties and no more than a three-point score differential. The Aces hit 65 percent of their shots in the second quarter and went 3-for-6 from three-point range. The Lynx made 55.6 percent of theirs and shot 4-for-7 from afar. Wilson was 5-for-6 from the floor for 10 points and Kayla McBride scored eight points for Minnesota.

Third Quarter (Minnesota 74, Las Vegas 64):

The Aces shot just 1-for-10 from the field and gave up five points off four turnovers, allowing Minnesota to take a 62-52 lead in the first six minutes of the stanza. Wilson scored nine points in a 12-4 Las Vegas run that closed the gap to two points, 66-64. Minnesota, however, hit back-to-back threes and made a pair of free throws to reclaim its 10-point advantage. In all, Las Vegas shot just 3-for-13 (.231) from the field and 1-for-5 from deep, while Minnesota made 43.8 percent of its attempts overall and 3-for-7 from three-point range. Both sides scored an even 9-for-9 from the line. Wilson scored 11 points, while Nia Coffey checked in with nine points for the Lynx.

Fourth Quarter (Minnesota 92, Las Vegas 87):

The Aces made all four of their shot attempts in a 9-0 run to narrow the gap to a single point, 74-73. Back-to-back threes from the Lynx, however, expanded the deficit to seven points, 80-73, with just under seven minutes to play. Las Vegas fought back and was within three points, 90-87, with 8.3 seconds left, but time was not on the Aces side. The overall shooting from the floor improved for the Aces, who shot 3-for-10 from beyond the arc, to 44.4 percent in the quarter. Minnesota made 41.7 percent of their field-goal attempts and just 2-for-7 from deep. Gray scored seven points to lead the Aces, while Napheesa Collier had eight points for the Lynx.

Key Stats:

Young’s nine assists accounted for 23 points, while Gray’s nine assists converted into 20 points.

19 of Wilson’s 21 points from the floor were assisted, and her other 11 tallies came from the free-throw line.

Game Notes:

Wilson moved past Candace Parker (6,574) and into No. 11 on the league’s all-time career scoring charts. She now has 6,580 career points. No. 10 is Breanna Stewart (6,709) and No. 9 is Sue Bird (6,803), just 223 points away.

Young passed Nos. 28 Odyssey Sims and Katie Smith, who have 1,258 assists apiece, and her 1,264 career assists currently sit at No. 27 on the league’s all-time chart.

After posting seven assists and zero turnovers in the first half tonight, Gray now stands third all-time in halves with at least seven assists and zero turnovers with 10 such halves, trailing Ticha Penicheiro and Courtney Vandersloot, both of whom have 16. Sue Bird is No. 4 on the list with nine.

Gray has dished out at least four assists in a league-leading 23-straight games.

Wilson upped her total of league-leading 30-point games to 11, and Saturday’s game was the 48th 30-plus point game of her career, trailing only Diana Taurasi’s 54 on the all-time charts. It also marked her 26th 20-point game of the season, tied as tops in the WNBA, and league third-most 188th of her career (Taurasi, 259; Tina Charles, 190).

With a game-high 10 made field goals, Wilson (2,391) passed Tamika Catchings (2,385) to take the No. 13 spot on the league’s all-time made field goals list. Cappie Pondexter (2,446) stands at No. 12.

With one blocked shot on Saturday night, Wilson reached 600 for her career and became only the sixth player in WNBA history to hit the milestone.

Smith chalked up her fourth double-double of the year and third in five games.

Wilson has scored in double figures a league-leading 57-consecutive games.

Young is now tied with Natalie Williams for sixth in franchise history for rebounds with 1,156 each.

Gray broke a tie with Penny Taylor and lists No. 28 on the WNBA all-time steals list, trailing No. 27 Kayla McBride’s 481. No. 26 is Becky Hammon with 488.

Saturday’s game marked the Aces’ 63rd-straight sellout at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Las Vegas was without the services of Kierstan Bell (personal), Dana Evans (left leg) and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (concussion protocol).