Jackie Young had her first triple-double and A'ja Wilson scored 17 of her 34 points in a dominant first quarter that propelled the Las Vegas Aces to an 89-74 win over Los Angeles on Tuesday night, ending the Sparks five-game winning streak and spoiling the return of Cameron Brink.
Brink played 13 minutes and scored five points in her first game since the 2024 No. 2 draft pick tore her left ACL last June, early in her rookie season.
Wilson made all eight of her shots as the Aces led 31-18 after one quarter and the Sparks never seriously threatened.
Young had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Aces (14-13).
Kelsey Plum had 22 points for the Sparks (11-14), who have scored more than 90 points in five straight games and hit 101 in the last two. Rae Burrell had a season-high 17 and Dearica Hamby added 15.
Los Angeles averaged 11 3-pointers and shot better than 50% in the last four games but finished at 37.7% with a season-low four 3s. Plum was 0 for 6 behind the arc and is 1 of 17 in three games against her former team.
Zandalasini’s late hoop lifts Valkyries
Cecilia Zandalasini sank a short baseline jumper with 3.9 seconds left to lift the Golden State Valkyries to a 77-75 win over the Atlanta Dream.
Zandalasini, who finished with 18 points, got the ball at the top of the key and drove to her right before squaring up at the baseline to hit the shot over defender Alyssa Gray.
Brittney Griner's shot at the buzzer from about 18 feet barely grazed the rim for Atlanta.
Tiffany Hayes scored 15 points, reserve Caria Leite added 12 and Veronica Burton had 10 for Golden State (12-13). Led by Zandalasini, the Valkyries' bench had a 39-16 scoring advantage.
Jordin Canada had 21 points and eight assists to lead the Dream (15-11). Naz Hillmon had 14 points and eight rebounds and Gray scored 12 points.
Rookies lead Mystics past struggling Sky
Sonia Citron scored 28 points and Kiki Iriafen added 22, career highs for both, and the Washington Mystics handed the Chicago Sky their sixth straight loss with a 103-86 victory.
Brittney Sykes supported the two All-Star rookies with 18 points for the Mystics (13-13) and the reserves outscored their counterparts 21-7. Iriafen also had 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double.
Angel Reese had 22 points and 13 rebounds in her return after missing two games with back issues. Kamilla Cardoso added 21 points and 10 boards for the Sky (7-19).
Washington led by 19 points in the third quarter and was ahead 80-65 entering the fourth. The Sky cut the deficit to eight with 3:22 to play, but Jade Melbourne and Citron sandwiched three-point plays around Iriafen's basket to make it 100-84.
