South Carolina women's basketball: A'ja Wilson adds to her list of records

It took exactly one week of the 2026 WNBA season for A’ja Wilson to get back to her record-setting ways. Her latest accomplishment is a 45-point game against Connecticut.

In Las Vegas’ 101-94 win at Connecticut on Friday night, Wilson shot 15-18 from the floor and 13-13 from the free throw line. She was also a perfect 2-2 from behind the arc.

Wilson is now the only player in WNBA history to score 45 points or more on 80% field goal shooting or better. She is also the only player in WNBA history with multiple games of 45 points or more. 

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball! 🏀

Wilson now has five career games with 40 points or more, breaking a tie with Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi for the most 40-point games in WNBA history. She is the only player with two of the top 10 scoring games in league history.

Wilson and the Aces seem to be working their way back to a championship level. They were blown out by Phoenix, the team Las Vegas swept in last year’s Finals, to start the season. Since then, Las Vegas has won three straight.

Wilson scored 19 points in the loss to Phoenix, 19 points in a win over Los Angeles, and then notched her first double-double of the season earlier in the week with 22 points and 11 rebounds against Connecticut. All three were blowouts, and Friday night’s game was the first time she played significant minutes in the fourth quarter.

Wilson is now tied for the league lead in scoring at 26.3 points per game. She led the WNBA in scoring each of the past two seasons, including a league record 26.9 points in 2024. She is also now 20th in career points, 17 behind her coach Becky Hammon.

🏀 GamecocksW newsletter: WBB coverage delivered straight to your inbox!

Up next for Las Vegas is a visit to Atlanta, perhaps the team Wilson has tormented more than any other. Atlanta is the closest team to Columbia and always draws a significant number of Gamecock fans. There are even more when Wilson comes to town, helped by a sold-out bus trip sponsored by the A’ja Wilson Foundation.

Wilson scored her career high of 53 points at Atlanta in 2023. That is tied for the WNBA record for points in a game. Wilson shot 16-23 from the floor and 20-21 from the line in that game. 

In her career, Wilson has averaged 23.8 points in 22 games against Atlanta. The only team she has scored against more is Dallas, against whom Wilson averages 24.2 points.

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball!