Wilson puts up historic line as Aces rout Wings

ARLINGTON, Texas — A’ja Wilson had 36 points, 14 rebounds and 6 steals to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Dallas Wings 95-81 on Wednesday night.

Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to have at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals in a game. She also is the first with at least 35 points and 5 steals in multiple games.

Wednesday was her 10th career game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, and she became the seventh WNBA player with 10 or more such games, joining Tina Charles, Breanna Stewart, Lauren Jackson, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie and Brittney Griner.

Wilson scored 12 of her team’s opening 20 points, and Tiffany Hayes made her first basket in a Las Vegas uniform to build a 22-6 lead.

The Aces led 29-16 at the end of the first quarter after shooting 63% from the field.

Las Vegas led by as many as 20 points in the first half before Dallas rallied to get within 47-42 at the break. Wilson finished the half with 20 points and nine of Las Vegas’ 18 field goals.

Jackie Young made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to extend Las Vegas’ lead to 63-52. Alysha Clark added another 3-pointer to open the fourth-quarter scoring for a 78-61 advantage.

Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, and Young, who did not participate in the shootaround because of an illness, added 19 for Las Vegas (5-2). Hayes, who started all 40 games for the Connecticut Sun last season, scored 11 points for the Aces after joining the team Friday.

Arike Ogunbowale, who has led the Wings in scoring in all eight games, scored 31 points for Dallas (3-5). Teaira McCowan made her first career 3-pointer in the first half and finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Maddy Siegrist also scored 14 points, and Monique Billings added 12.

Wilson is averaging 27.9 points and 12.6 rebounds this season, the first WNBA player to average at least 25 points and 10 rebounds through the first seven games. Previously, no one had maintained such averages for more than the first four games of a season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.