Sometimes even a win can feel like a loss, and the Las Vegas Aces faced that dilemma in their 88-78 road victory over the Toronto Tempo on Sunday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Aces starting forward NaLyssa Smith suffered a non-contact left knee injury during the third quarter and had to be helped off the court after she was unable to put weight on her left leg.
Smith immediately grabbed her knee after coming down awkwardly while attempting to corral a pass from Jackie Young in transition. She was evaluated by the Aces’ training staff before being helped toward the locker room.
The severity of Smith’s injury was not immediately known, leaving the Aces to await further evaluation on the WNBA’s field-goal percentage leader.
Center A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 27 points while adding seven rebounds and seven assists, helping the Aces take advantage of a depleted Toronto lineup and earn their sixth win in their last 10 games and first road victory since Aug. 6. She was listed as questionable with a back injury before being made available to play.
Guard Jackie Young complemented Wilson’s performance with 21 points and seven assists, marking her third consecutive game and eighth in her last nine with at least 20 points.
Toronto entered the matchup without five of its top scorers: Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes, Nyara Sabally, Aneesah Morrow and Maria Conde. The group accounted for 80 percent of the Tempo’s 87.5 points per game entering Sunday, leaving Isabelle Harrison, Kiki Rice, Julie Allemand and the rest of Toronto’s supporting cast to fill the scoring void.
The victory kept the Aces at No. 3 in the WNBA standings, a half-game ahead of the Indiana Fever and one game ahead of the Atlanta Dream with four regular-season games remaining.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
