A’ja Wilson did not just have a great night Friday. She entered a category of one.
Wilson scored 45 points in the Las Vegas Aces’ 101-94 win over the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena, becoming the first player in WNBA history with multiple 45-point games. It was the second-highest regular-season scoring total of her career, behind only her 53-point franchise-record performance against the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 22, 2023.
It also rearranged the Aces’ record book. Wilson’s 45 moved into second place on the Aces/San Antonio Silver Stars single-game scoring list, pushing one of Becky Hammon’s old 37-point performances out of the franchise top 10.
Hammon probably will live with that.
Wilson finished 15-for-18 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 13-for-13 at the free-throw line. She added three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal in 32 minutes, giving the Aces everything they needed on a night when Connecticut turned the rematch into a real game.
“I want to be efficient,” Wilson said after the win. “It’s beautiful to rack up all these points, but are they going to be efficient? That’s what’s key. That’s the numbers that I look at.”
Patient, not rushed
Two nights earlier, Wilson had 22 points and 11 rebounds in a 98-69 win over the Sun, but foul trouble shaped her first half. She had three fouls before halftime Wednesday and, as a result, had to spend more time watching than controlling.
Friday, however, looked different from the start. Wilson did not pick up her first foul until the end of the third quarter. Because of that, the Aces could play through her early, and she responded with 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the first quarter and 19 by halftime.
“I think I was just honestly getting to my spots and being patient with the basketball,” Wilson said. “I think last game I was kind of rushed. I rushed it, trying to bait or wait on the double versus just playing the game that’s in front of me.”
Hammon said the Aces got Wilson early touches and, once she found her rhythm, kept going back to what worked.
“I thought she got a lot of early touches, got her going early, and then just rolling, just kind of riding her from there,” Hammon said.
The approach, though, was not complicated. Hammon said Las Vegas used more basic horn sets, the old-school look with two bigs near the elbows, and leaned into what she called “pound basketball.”
In other words, the night was historic, but the plan was simple: give the best player on the floor the ball and let her read.
A league-history night
The 45-point night put Wilson in rare company inside the Aces’ record book. More importantly, it put her in a class by herself across the WNBA.
Her 53-point game against Atlanta remains the franchise standard. Now, Friday’s 45 sits next, ahead of her 42-point game against Dallas in 2024, her 41-point game against Phoenix in 2024 and the 40-point games from Kelsey Plum and Wilson in 2023.
Aces/Silver Stars single-game scoring leaders
- 53 — A’ja Wilson vs. Atlanta Dream, Aug. 22, 2023
- 45 — A’ja Wilson at Connecticut Sun, May 15, 2026
- 42 — A’ja Wilson vs. Dallas Wings, Aug. 27, 2024
- 41 — A’ja Wilson vs. Phoenix Mercury, Sept. 1, 2024
- 40 — Kelsey Plum vs. Minnesota Lynx, July 9, 2023
- 40 — A’ja Wilson vs. Washington Mystics, Aug. 11, 2023
- 39 — Danielle Adams vs. Atlanta Dream, Sept. 15, 2013
- 39 — A’ja Wilson vs. Indiana Fever, June 29, 2019
- 38 — Becky Hammon vs. Sacramento Monarchs, July 30, 2009
- 38 — Kayla McBride vs. Dallas Wings, June 27, 2018
As a result, Wilson’s newest entry bumped one of Hammon’s own San Antonio Silver Stars scoring nights from the franchise top 10. Hammon’s 38-point game against Sacramento in 2009 remains on the list. However, her 37-point game against Los Angeles in 2011 got pushed out by the player she now coaches.
That is how Wilson’s career works at this point. Even when she is chasing league history, she is also rewriting the franchise history around her.
The shot that stopped the surge
Connecticut did not go quietly. The Sun used offensive rebounds, extra shot attempts and a third-quarter push to make the Aces uncomfortable after Las Vegas had led by 10 at halftime.
The Sun cut the Aces’ lead to 72-70 with 1:13 left in the third quarter after an 11-0 run. Then Wilson hit the shot that changed the tone of the game.
She buried a 24-foot 3-pointer to push the lead back to five. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus followed with a block on the other end, and Wilson finished through contact for an and-one layup that stretched the lead to 78-70.
That was the moment the game stopped feeling like Connecticut’s comeback and became Wilson’s takeover.
Wilson said the 3-pointer was not necessarily the designed shot, but she trusted the read.
“My teammates trust me in that situation,” Wilson said. “It’s definitely something that I’m going to continue to add to my game. Obviously, Becky wants me to shoot more. So I just got to continue to get comfortable with it. If it’s there, I’m going to knock it down.”
Hammon made it clear she wants Wilson taking those shots.
“You always want the best player on the planet to shoot more,” Hammon said.
Greatness still surprises Chelsea Gray
Chelsea Gray had one of the best seats in the building for Wilson’s night, and she helped make it happen. Gray finished with 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, repeatedly getting Wilson the ball in spots where she could attack before Connecticut could fully load up.
“When you got somebody dropping 45 and only missing three shots, that’s amazing to be able to play with,” Gray said. “So of course I’m going to try to find her any way I can.”
Gray has played next to Wilson through championships, MVP seasons and too many dominant nights to count. Still, she said nights like Friday should not become normal just because Wilson keeps making them look that way.
“You can’t get bored with watching greatness,” Gray said. “I’m around it all the time. I’m surprised every day.”
That may be the cleanest way to explain Wilson right now. Her dominance can feel routine until the numbers force everyone to stop and look again.
Forty-five points. Fifteen made shots on 18 attempts. Thirteen free throws without a miss. A perfect 2-for-2 from deep. A third-quarter answer when the game nearly flipped. A new place in the WNBA record book.
More than a scoring night
The box score was loud, but the way Wilson got there mattered.
She did not need 30 shots. She did not need to force the game. She did not need a whistle-heavy night to cover poor shooting. She scored 45 on 18 field-goal attempts and made every free throw she took.
That is why her own explanation matters. She was not chasing points. She was chasing the right shots.
Hammon had said before the game that scoring is in Wilson’s DNA, but also that the Aces continue to challenge her to expand the rest of her game. That means more ball-handling, more reads, more playmaking and more comfort operating like a guard when the matchup calls for it.
Friday gave both sides of that idea. Wilson scored like Wilson, but she also read the game calmly, trusted the flow and punished Connecticut when the defense backed off.
The Sun had made the rematch messy. Wilson made it simple.
Mohegan memories
The setting mattered, too.
Mohegan Sun Arena already owns a place in Wilson’s story. She scored her first WNBA point there. The Aces won their first championship there in 2022. On Friday, Wilson added another chapter by delivering the second-highest regular-season scoring game of her career.
“This building has been special to me for a while,” Wilson said. “I got my first WNBA point in this building. Won our first championship in this building. And now, you know, we’re leaving here with something.”
Gray has her own connection to the building. Connecticut drafted her, giving her the first stop in a WNBA career that eventually helped define the Aces’ championship era.
“For me, I was drafted here,” Gray said. “It gave me the opportunity to play in this league. And then obviously our first championship in Las Vegas was here in Connecticut.”
Friday added another layer to that history. The Aces did not just escape with a win. They left with another Wilson milestone, another reminder of how quickly a close game can become her stage and another example of why Las Vegas remains dangerous even when the night gets messy.
The first game in Connecticut showed the Aces’ depth. The rematch showed their trump card.
Wilson did not just score 45. She made it efficient, patient and inevitable.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
