A’ja Wilson drops 45, but Connecticut Sun give Las Vegas Aces a fight in 101-94 loss

UNCASVILLE — The odds were stacked against the Connecticut Sun in Friday’s rematch with the Las Vegas Aces , but the young team put up the best fight they’ve shown all season in a 101-94 loss against the reigning WNBA champions Barely 48 hours earlier on Wednesday, the Aces routed the Sun 98-69 at Mohegan Sun Arena, and Connecticut coach Rachid Meziane said in his postgame press conference that Las Vegas was simply playing at a level above where the Sun’s young players were able to compete. On Friday, Connecticut was down both 10-time All-Star Brittney Griner and former UConn standout Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Griner was absent for the second straight game with a foot injury while Nelson-Ododa sat with an ankle injury suffered in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss, leaving undrafted rookie Raegan Beers as the only true center available.

Even spending most of the game without a player taller than 6 feet 3 on the court, the Sun managed to give the Aces a genuine challenge until the final buzzer. Saniya Rivers was the hero of Connecticut’s performance with her best game of the 2026 season, finishing with 14 points, three rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block. The second-year guard’s night was headlined by a pair of clutch 3-pointers she nailed back-to-back late in the third quarter that drew a reaction from the crowd so deafening it could have been a game winner.

Behind Rivers, rookie point guard Charlisse Leger-Walker had the best game of her professional career with 10 points shooting 3-for-5 on top of four assists. Second-year point guard Hailey Van Lith also set a career with 17 points, shooting 7-for-11 and 3-for-4 on 3-pointers. She also added four assists.

But with its limited post presence, the Sun couldn’t do anything to slow down four-time reigning MVP A’ja Wilson. The superstar center dropped 45 points, shooting 15-for-18 from the field and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. It was the highest scoring performance by an opposing player in Sun franchise history, surpassing the 44 scored by Atlanta Dream guard Betty Lennox in a 2008 overtime loss to Connecticut.