A'ja Wilson hits buzzer beater to give Aces the win

This afternoon, the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky faced off in what ended up being an insane battle in the fourth quarter. The Aces struggled to get going in this one, and Chicago just wouldn't quit. The game included some fantastic shots by Chennedy Carter and an absolute awakening by Lindsey Allen. Despite these Sky players giving it their all, A'ja Wilson silenced the crowd at the buzzer.

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Chicago Sky start things off

The Sky was running the game for the whole first quarter as the Ace's offense seemed to shut down. Midway through, only A'ja Wilson and Tiffany Hayes had done any damage for the team. It didn't help that Kamilla Cardoso started the first with three big blocks, including one on Wilson, and Michaela Onyenwere had a quick eight points.

Things continued to spin out of control for Las Vegas, with Chennedy Carter bringing some insane energy onto the floor. She hit a smooth jumper on the baseline over Kelsey Plum to keep things moving. The quarter ended with Chicago up 17-12.

The momentum the Sky had in the first quarter was amazing, and it seemed like they'd really have a shot of closing this one out early. However, the energy began to shift in the second quarter, off a buzzer-beater from Hayes in the first and a jumper from Alysha Clark to start the second.

The Aces come marching back

Las Vegas didn't immediately start piling on the points. Instead, there was a major focus on shutting down the paint on defense. They had to try to take Cardoso out of the equation as she was battling hard down low. Both sides ended up turning up on defense as shots were blocked and layups were shut down. It took a while for the Aces to get things going, but they would eventually.

Clark and Plum both helped push things in the second quarter when Jackie Young and Wilson couldn't hit any shots. Young wouldn't score her first points until the third quarter. However, Wilson would come to life this quarter and manage to get herself a double-double before the end of the half.

The third quarter brought out a different story from the Aces bench. Megan Gustafson would enter the game and hit two big three-pointers to take the lead. Onyenwere would answer with her own three. From there, we'd see a back-and-forth battle between Plum and Carter, both hitting multiple shots. Things would go stagnant for a bit after that, but the third would end in a 52-52 tie.

A'ja Wilson is the hero of this one

For the first seven minutes of the fourth, it looked like Las Vegas was going to walk away from this one with an easy win to close it out. The tide turned when Angel Reese grabbed three offensive boards from her own misses and went to the free-throw line. She would end the game with 22 rebounds and 11 points, tying Tina Charles' record for most double-doubles by a rookie in a single season.

These three boards, which she fought for surrounded by opposition, brought some energy to her team. A lot of this newfound energy came from Allen, who went on an absolute tear, hitting shot after shot to bring the game to 75-69. Finally, Teresa Witherspoon would put Chennedy Carter back in the game, and she'd a three to bring it to 75-72.

The Aces tried to get a quick playoff with Chelsea Gray going for the layup, but it was a miss. The board was cleaned up by Kamilla Cardoso. A hectic turnback to offense had Coach Witherspoon calling a timeout. The ball immediately found Carter and an isolation three at the top of the key, and the Chicago crowd was exploding as the game was once again tied.

The clock was left with 1.1 seconds on it. The crowd and players were most likely prepared for an exciting overtime. This never happened, though. Instead, Chelsea Gray would find MVP candidate A'ja Wilson under the rim, and she'd lay it in right before the buzzer sounded, leading to a crushing defeat for the Sky.

Article originally written by Elizabeth Della Piana