A'ja Wilson's status unclear as Aces prepare for Sky

The Las Vegas Aces are looking for their second win over the Chicago Sky in six days on Friday, after sustaining a shorthanded setback against the New York Liberty in Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup championship game.

Las Vegas had to fend without reigning MVP A’ja Wilson in Tuesday’s loss, as Wilson rolled her ankle in the Aces’ 107-99 win over the Sky in Chicago on Sunday. Jackie Young led all scorers with 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting while also dishing out seven assists, but she didn’t get enough help from her teammates to overcome a combined 51 points from New York’s Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart.

“It’s just about getting (Young) the ball and getting her kind of freeing her up and shaking her loose a little bit,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Jackie will get cooking if you just give her the ball enough. She’ll find her spots.”

Wilson is questionable for Friday’s rematch with Chicago with that ankle injury, but it’s safe to say she’ll be a problem for the Sky if she is capable of playing. Before she left Sunday’s win in the closing moments, Wilson racked up a performance of 30 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and three blocks that had never previously occurred in WNBA history.

However, given the Sky’s struggles this season, it also wouldn’t be too shocking to see the Aces (14-5) play it safe with Wilson, named Thursday to start in the WNBA All-Star Game. The Aces listed Wilson as questionable for the contest.

To put the Sky’s struggles into perspective, the team started 3-1 but lost prized offseason acquisition Rickea Jackson during that third win (against the now league-best Minnesota Lynx) with a torn ACL after leading the team with 29 points in their previous game.

In the immediate aftermath of Jackson’s injury, the Sky dropped 11 of their next 12 games to fall to 4-12. Back-to-back wins over the expansion Portland Fire brought the Sky to their current total of six wins, but the Aces are heavily favored to hand them a second straight loss on Friday after Sunday’s initial meeting in Chicago.

A silver lining in the Sky’s loss to the Aces on Sunday was the production the team got from center Kamilla Cardoso and forward Azura Stevens, who each tallied 24 points on an efficient shooting clip while also anchoring the team defensively. Wilson’s 30 points and an additional 28 points from Young ended up stealing the show, but it was at the very least something to build off of for the Sky (6-13).

“We try to get (Cardoso) touches every single game, and she’s been playing amazing,” Stevens said. “We’re all so proud of her. She creates so much of an advantage for us against other teams, so it makes all of our jobs easier when she’s being aggressive because it opens up. They send doubles, they have to give attention to her down there, and it opens up wide open shots for us, cuts all around the perimeter, so yeah, she’s been killing it.”

–Field Level Media