Sky vs. Aces: Sydney Taylor Buries a Go-Ahead 3 With 0.9 Seconds Left as Chicago Stuns Las Vegas 84-83

A'ja Wilson had just finished doing the thing she does. Thirty-six points, a driving layup with 3.2 seconds left, an 83-81 Las Vegas lead, and 9,025 people at Wintrust Arena bracing for one more close loss. Then Chicago called timeout, moved the ball up the floor and handed the last word to an undrafted rookie.

Sydney Taylor's 23-foot 3-pointer dropped with 0.9 seconds on the clock, and the Chicago Sky beat the defending champion Aces 84-83 on Saturday. Taylor finished with 29 points, and a team the AP had at 0-6 in overtime and one-score games finally learned what the other side of those feels like.

Three Quarters of Las Vegas, Then One Very Long Fourth

For most of the afternoon this looked like a routine Aces road win. Chicago led 11-9 early, and that was the last time it would be in front for a very long while. Las Vegas ripped off nine straight, closing the burst with two Jackie Young 3-pointers, to go up 18-11. Young already had 10 points, six rebounds and two assists when the first quarter ended with the Aces ahead 20-16.

Wilson took over from there. She scored nine in the second quarter, though a Taylor floater just before the horn kept the Sky within 40-37 at the half. Then came the third, when Wilson dropped 13 more and a one-point edge swelled to 13. Chicago chipped at it, but 65-55 heading to the fourth felt about right for a 20-win team visiting a 10-win team.

It was still 68-58 with roughly seven and a half minutes to play when Taylor decided she was done being polite. A floater, another bucket and a step-back 3 came in the span of 47 seconds, and suddenly it was 68-65. Elizabeth Williams hit an 18-footer to make it 70-69, and Taylor's 3 with 4:39 left tied it at 72.

Wilson, being Wilson, scored six of the next eight points to push it back to 78-74. Natasha Cloud's three-point play cut that to 78-77, and Williams' floater with 2:25 to go gave Chicago a 79-78 lead, its first since that 11-9 back in the opening quarter. Chelsea Gray took it right back with a pull-up, Wilson made one of two at the line, and DiJonai Carrington tied it at 81 with a pair of free throws at the 43.9-second mark. Then Wilson found the lane for the basket that should have ended the conversation.

The Last 3.2 Seconds

The turning point lasted about as long as a TikTok hook. The timeout let Chicago advance the ball, so Cloud had a short throw instead of a full-court prayer. Taylor started down near the rim, took off for the top of the key and used a screen to shake free. The pass hit her in stride, and there was no dribble and no hesitation before it was in the air.

That shot capped a 29-18 fourth quarter for Chicago. Per the team, Taylor scored 13 of those points and hit three 3-pointers in the period, which is the kind of quarter that gets a rookie's name typed into a lot of search bars.

The Rookie and the Four-Time MVP

Taylor's line was gloriously chaotic: 11 of 27 from the field, 5 of 11 from deep, plus-10 on the afternoon. High volume, high nerve. The Sky say this was the fifth time she has topped 25 points in a game, and that all other undrafted rookies in WNBA history have combined for five such games. They also credit her as the first undrafted rookie to hit a go-ahead 3 in clutch time. Team-sourced superlatives, sure, but nobody in Chicago is arguing tonight.

Wilson was magnificent in a losing effort, with 36 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and 9 of 12 at the line. She just didn't get much from the second unit. Las Vegas reserves scored five points combined, with Dana Evans going 0 for 6 and Jewell Loyd 1 for 5. Young's 18 points and 11 rebounds gave her a fifth double-double this season by the Sky's count, but six turnovers took some of the shine off. NaLyssa Smith was the only other Ace in double figures, with 17 on 7-of-11 shooting. Gray dished nine assists and went 0 for 5 from 3.

For Chicago, Cloud's 11 points and four assists included the pass that will be replayed all weekend. Carrington added 10 off the bench, Courtney Vandersloot stuffed the box score with seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Kamilla Cardoso pulled down 12 rebounds. Williams chipped in seven and, according to the team, reached 1,000 career points with the Sky.

Stats That Matter

• 29-18: Chicago's margin in the fourth quarter, after losing the first three by a combined 65-55.
• 21-5: The bench scoring edge for the Sky.
• 5 of 22: The Aces from 3-point range, against 8 of 20 for Chicago.
• 17-14: Total turnovers, Las Vegas with the bad end of it.
• 40-32: The Aces' rebounding advantage, which bought them nothing.

What It Means

Chicago is 11-18 overall and 7-7 at home, with two straight wins, both comebacks at Wintrust inside of three days. The AP says this one ended a seven-game Sky losing streak against Las Vegas, and it gave first-year coach Tyler Marsh his first win over his former team. The Sky get Phoenix at home on Monday, the third game of a five-game homestand.

Las Vegas drops to 20-9, 11-4 on the road, and a two-game winning streak is gone. The Aces still took the season series 2-1, which will be small comfort on the way to Atlanta for Monday's second game of a five-game trip.

The Studio Would Have Sent This Script Back

Pitch this as a sports movie and the notes come back brutal. An undrafted rookie outlasts a four-time MVP? A team that was 0-6 in close games wins on a shot with 0.9 seconds left? Too neat, nobody buys it. Wilson did everything a superstar is supposed to do, including the go-ahead basket in the final seconds, and it still wasn't the last thing that happened. Against Sydney Taylor, it turns out, 3.2 seconds is a long time.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Additional context from the Associated Press and the Chicago Sky.