Kate Martin injured as Las Vegas Aces lose to Chicago Sky

LAS VEGAS In what could end up being a costly loss on Tuesday night, the Chicago Sky defeated the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 behind 34 points from Chennedy Carter and 13 points and 10 rebounds from Angel Reese, who had her 16th double-double in the previous 17 games.

Midway through the second quarter, Chicago led 42-21. They maintained that lead until 8:16 remained in the fourth quarter, when Megan Gustafson scored a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Aces their first lead of the game, 72-71.

Carter put Chicago ahead for good 80-79 on a basket while being fouled with 3:23 left. She missed the free throw, but Chicago grabbed the offensive rebound and Carter made another shot for a three-point lead. Carter also scored on Chicago’s next two possessions to make it 86-81.

Las Vegas rookie Kate Martin slipped on the court with 1:19 left in the first quarter and needed to be helped to the locker room. She later returned to the bench but did not play again. After the loss, Aces coach Becky Hammon said she didn’t know more other than that Martin has a lower right leg injury.

Reese secured her double-double with 1:32 left in the fourth when she elevated to grab a rebound and put up a shot before landing on the floor for an 88-81 lead. The Sky made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to seal it.

Carter finished one point shy of tying her career high, which she had established during her rookie season in 2020, shooting 14 of 24 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Chicago (10-14) got 15 more points from Marina Mabrey.

For the sixth straight game this season, A’ja Wilson scored at least 20 points and 10 rebounds for Las Vegas (16-8). She finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 steals. Wilson now ranks third in the franchise’s career steals history. Jackie Young scored 11 of her 17 points in the second quarter, and Tiffany Hayes added 19 points off the bench.

Carter made her first five shots of the game and scored 14 in the first quarter, while Las Vegas had only 12 points after going 5-of-13 from the field. Carter’s first points of the second quarter came with 25 seconds left to give Chicago a 44-37 lead at the break.

Mabrey completed a three-point play with 1:49 remaining in the third to give Chicago a 69-56 lead, but the Aces closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by a jumper by Kelsey Plum just before the buzzer. In the end, though, the Aces had a four-game winning streak snapped.

“I think we kind of needed this to kind of wake us up a little bit. To tell us we have a lot more work we to do, because sometimes, when you’re winning games and streaking out a little bit, things get lost in the sauce,” Wilson said. “And so when you have games like this, where you kind of get senioritis, it’s kind of helpful to get punched in the mouth, like today.”