LAS VEGAS — — Megan Gustafson scored a career-high 24 points and the two-time reigning champion Las Vegas Aces defeated the Dallas Wings 98-84 on Thursday night despite resting four starters.

The fourth-seeded Aces (27-13) open their best-of-three first-round series at home on Sunday against the fifth-seeded Seattle Storm.

Tiffany Hayes added 21 points for the Aces, who rested MVP favorite A’ja Wilson and fellow Olympians Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young. Sydney Colson scored 13 points, Kierstan Bell had 12 and Alysha Clark contributed 10.

Satou Sabally scored 25 points to lead the Wings (9-31), who were without leading scorer Arike Ogunbowale due to illness. Jaelyn Brown added 15 points, Kalani Brown and Natasha Howard each had 13 and Maddy Siegrist had 12.

The game was tied at 30 after the first quarter when the teams combined for 11 3-pointers. The Aces took control in the second quarter and led 60-45 at halftime. Las Vegas was 11 of 21 from 3-point range at halftime.

The Aces extended their lead to 88-68 after three quarters. Hayes scored the first basket of the fourth quarter before the Wings scored 13 points to pull within nine with 4:47 left, but they could get no closer.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball