Last season, A’ja Wilson could hardly afford to have an off quarter — let alone an off half or night.
Three games into the new campaign, the Aces’ depth has already shown that it has Wilson’s back if, for whatever reason, the four-time MVP takes some time to get things going. In Wednesday’s 98-69 win against the Connecticut Sun, Wilson found herself in first half foul trouble that limited her to only nine minutes out of the first 20.
Not to worry though, because newcomer Chennedy Carter lead the charge for the Aces to pick up the slack and maintain their 11-point lead from when Wilson was subbed out of the game with three fouls with 6:25 left to play in the second quarter.
Las Vegas had a 48-37 advantage at the break, with coach Becky Hammon’s bench unit responsible for 27 points — on a night where they totaled a whopping 48. Carter poured in 14 of her 27 in the opening 20 minutes. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus added 8 and Jewell Loyd scored 5.
Jackie Young led the starters at the half with 9 points as Wilson was held to 6 in just nine minutes of action.
“That was probably the most rest I have gotten since 2022,” Wilson said afterward. “I looked at it from that aspect, there is just a different feel to it this year when it comes to the flow of the game and the way the officials are calling it.
“We have to adjust to that but I can’t remember the last time I had this many fouls. But that’s not going to stop me from doing what my team needs me to do.”
Wilson made up for her slow start in the second half. She erupted for 16 points — including 10 in the third quarter — to finish with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks. It was Wilson’s 121st career double-double.
Carter’s 27 points led all scorers — on an extremely efficient 13-16 FG with no free throws attempted — to go along with eight rebounds and four dimes. Carter also added a pair of steals and spoke about Hammon’s impact on her game on both ends of the floor in the aftermath.
“(Hammon) always tells me that I have potential on both sides of the ball and that she’s going to bring the best out of me and push me,” Carter said. “And that doesn’t mean that she is getting onto me, she just sees my potential and she’s going to ride me and be hard on me, but it’s ultimately to make me better.
“I have embraced that. Being coached hard and asked to do more. … And I’m just having fun (here). I’m thankful that I have a team that has embraced me and allowed me to be me. It has been comfortable and it doesn’t feel forced. It feels right.”
The proof of that comfort is in the pudding, as Carter’s performance against the sun took her early season scoring tally to just under 20 points per tilt.
Carter was virtually unguardable for the young and shorthanded Sun side, carving them up whichever way she wanted — be it in half-court sets or on fastbreaks. That side of Carter’s outing pleased Hammon.
“Her ability to get downhill and finish against bigger defenders (has been huge),” Hammon said. “Most of the time, she is getting inside and she is a willing passer. When we put that shooting around her, as a defender, you’re either going to give her a layup or give up a wide open three. Pick your poison.”
Hammon said that while Carter is still figuring out the Aces’ system, she already feels confident in a couple of plays that she can call for her to go get a bucket at any given moment. “She has been very intentional about making people around her better,” she added.
Carter and the Aces did not slow down in the second half. Wilson’s return pushed the pedal to the metal even firmer.
Before you knew it, Las Vegas led by its largest margin of the night at the time after Carter turned on the jets and got to the cup to beat the third quarter buzzer, making it 78-53 going into the fourth. She had 18 points in 15 minutes through three. A’ja was up to 20 with nine boards.
On the defensive end, the Aces tightened the screw after the break, and it showed the most in how they contained Connecticut’s Aneesah Morrow.
The second-year big out of LSU gave the Aces all they could handle in the first-half, pouring in 15 points and collecting nine rebounds to lead all players at the interval. Las Vegas held her to just one point and one board in the third frame.
The Aces carried the momentum from their 30-16 third-quarter run into the fourth, starting with seven unanswered points and giving Hammon the comfort of pulling her starters with 8:24 remaining.
A pair of free throws from Wilson, a steal and a deuce from Carter, and a trailer triple from Chelsea Gray off an offensive rebound and dish from Wilson made it 85-53. Gray ended the game with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Young (11), Loyd (11), and Parker-Tyus (10) combined for 32 points.
The Aces — now 2-1 on the year — will look for their third straight win against this same Sun side on Friday in what will be Las Vegas’ last game in Connecticut before the franchise moves to Houston next year.