ACES GAME DAY
Who: Toronto Tempo (11-27, 5-11 Eastern Conference) at Las Vegas Aces (26-13, 13-6 Western Conference)
Where: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas
When: 7 p.m. Friday
TV: ION Network
Streaming: WNBA League Pass
Bottom line: Toronto takes on the Las Vegas Aces after Kiki Rice scored 24 points in the Tempo’s 90-78 loss to the Seattle Storm.
The Aces have gone 12-7 at home. Las Vegas is third in the WNBA with 25.8 defensive rebounds per game led by A’ja Wilson averaging 7.7. The Tempo are 4-14 on the road. Toronto is 5-18 in games decided by 10 points or more.
Las Vegas is shooting 48.3% from the field this season, 1.0 percentage point higher than the 47.3% Toronto allows to opponents. Toronto averages 9.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.9 more makes per game than Las Vegas gives up.
The two teams match up for the third time this season. The Aces defeated the Tempo 88-78 in their last meeting on Aug. 23. Wilson led the Aces with 27 points, and Kia Nurse led the Tempo with 19 points.
Top performers: Wilson is averaging 26 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and two blocks for the Aces. Jackie Young is averaging 20.7 points over the last 10 games.
Laura Juskaite is scoring 10.2 points per game and averaging 4.2 rebounds for the Tempo. Marina Mabrey is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Last 10 games: Aces — 6-4, averaging 88.0 points, 31.8 rebounds, 20.1 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 87.7 points per game. Tempo — 1-9, averaging 84.1 points, 33.2 rebounds, 19.6 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 42.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 93.7 points.
Injuries: Aces — Janiah Barker: out for season (leg), NaLyssa Smith: day to day (lower-body), Dana Evans: day to day (leg). Tempo — Aneesah Morrow: out for season (knee), Brittney Sykes: out for season (foot), Marina Mabrey: out (adductor), Nyara Sabally: out (calf).
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
