Game: Las Vegas Aces vs Phoenix Mercury

Date: Sunday September 1, 2024

Location: Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ

TV: WNBA League Pass

The Phoenix Mercury (16-16) host the Las Vegas Aces (18-12) on Sunday at the Footprint Center.

The Las Vegas Aces took on the Dallas Wings and walked away with a 93-90 loss in their last game. Las Vegas finished with a field goal percentage of 50.0% (31 of 62) and buried 5 of their 19 shots from 3-point land. At the free throw line, the Aces buried 23 of their 30 attempts for a percentage of 76.7%. In terms of rebounding, they earned 26 with 4 coming on offense. They also dished out 15 assists in this game while creating 11 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In terms of defense, Las Vegas allowed their opponent to shoot 48.0% from the field on 36 of 75 shots. Dallas dished out 13 assists and had 4 steals in the game. Furthermore, Dallas grabbed 40 rebounds (13 offensive, 27 defensive) and added 4 rejections. Dallas finished the game shooting 78.9% from the free throw line, making 15 of 19 shots. They made 6 of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc.

A’ja Wilson is a player who contributed to this matchup. She left the arena with 42 points on 16 of 22 shooting. She played 37 minutes and had a total of 6 rebounds. Wilson shot 72.7% from the field and earned 2 assists.

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Las Vegas enters the court with an 18-12 mark for the campaign. They lose the ball 11.1 times per game and as a group, they commit 16.9 fouls per night. As a team, Las Vegas is pulling down 34.4 rebounds per game and has 603 dimes so far this season, which is 8th in the league in passing. The Aces are making 34.7% of their shots from 3-point land (273 of 787) and 83.3% from the free throw line. They are currently averaging 87.0 points per game (1st in the league) while shooting 45.1% of their shots. On the defensive end, the Aces are forcing 12.4 turnovers per game while drawing 17.9 personal fouls. The Aces defense allows a field goal percentage of 43.5% (373 of 536) to the opponent and they give up 36.2 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 4th in the league in assists given up to the opponent with 613 given up for the season. They give up 36.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 8th in basketball in opponents points per game (83.2).

The last time they took the court, Phoenix Mercury suffered a final score of 89-76 against the Minnesota Lynx. Mercury grabbed 24 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds, which adds up to 37 in this game. They gave up 19 possessions, while getting 7 steals for the game. The Lynx earned 16 personal fouls for this game, which allowed Mercury to get to the free throw line 23 times. They were able to make 17 of their free throws for a clip of 73.9%. In terms of shots from distance, Phoenix made 7 of their 23 attempts (30.4%). Overall, Mercury went 26 of their 68 attempts from the field, which gave them a percentage of 38.2%. Mercury allowed the Lynx to convert 33 of their 72 attempts from the field, which gave them 45.8% of the shots for this game. They finished 42.3% from distance by shooting 11 of 26 and finished the game 12 of 16 at the free throw line (75.0%). As for rebounds, Phoenix allowed Minnesota to grab a total of 39 (12 offensive).

Sophie Cunningham was key for the Mercury in this game. She made 4 of 8 for the game, which gave her a percentage of 50.0%, and had 6 rebounds. Cunningham scored a total of 16 points in her 26 minutes of playing time, but went home with no dimes.

Phoenix has a 16-16 record this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Mercury are shooting 44.2% from the floor, which ranks 6th in basketball. Phoenix has scored 2,645 points this year (82.7 per game) and is grabbing 32.8 rebounds per game. They have 19.4 assists per game (10th in the league) and are losing possession to turnovers 13.5 times per game. The Mercury have committed 17.5 personal fouls per game and are making 80.1% from the free throw line. On defense, the Mercury are 9th in the league in PPG surrendered with 84.4. They are giving up 21.5 dimes and 36.7 boards per game, which ranks 10th and 12th in the league. Phoenix’s defense is giving up 33.4% of its shots from beyond the arc (286-of-857) and is allowing opponents to make 77.6% of their free throws. They are allowing 12.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.9% from the field (5th in the league).

Who will win tonight’s WNBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink’s pick: take Las Vegas

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