Coming off of three straight losses, the Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 89-81 on Sunday, June 22, inside T-Mobile Arena.
Q1: Jackie Young got the game started with a layup, and Jewell Loyd followed with a jump shot to put the Aces in the lead. Back-to-back missed shots by Loyd led to the Fever getting ahead by two. The Fever held the lead for the remaining 3:31 of the quarter, with the Aces tying it for 12 of those seconds. Chelsea Gray sunk the first three-pointer for the Aces. The Aces had four turnovers but ended the period down by one, 21-20.
Q2: Indiana found the net first to begin the second quarter. Gray made a jump shot, putting her at seven points in the game and 100% accuracy in the paint and behind the arc. Dana Evans hit a three to tie the game (28-28) for the first time since 3:52 in the first quarter. The Aces went on a 2-minute scoring drought caused by missed shots and a turnover. Indiana got its biggest lead of the game with 10 points. Four made free throws were the saving grace for the Aces to cut Indiana’s lead to only 42-36 to end the half.
Half Stats: The Aces struggled offensively in the first half, only shooting 33.3% from the field and behind the arc. Starter Kiah Stokes failed to secure any points in 10:41 of playtime. Gray led the team with nine points. Looking at Indiana, Aliyah Boston had 18 points, and all of the starters had at least five points.
Q3: After the Aces vs. Seattle Storm game on Friday, June 20, Becky Hammon stated there could be a potential change of the starting five after halftime due to the lack of success in third quarters. However, she decided to keep the starters the same. Las Vegas shrunk the Fever’s lead to only six points after A’ja Wilson and Loyd each scored in the paint. However, Wilson caused two turnovers within a minute. The Fever had almost a three-minute scoring drought, missing multiple shots, which allowed the Aces to get within four points of them. Las Vegas had its closest shot to getting a lead with the score at 59-57, but Wilson turned the ball over because of a double dribble. The Fever held its lead, 61-58.
Q4: The Aces took the lead (63-61) for the first time since 7:36 in the first quarter after Loyd made a layup and Aaliyah Nye stuck a three. Success at the net continued for the Aces as they gained their biggest lead of the game, six points (69-63). With 6:06 remaining, the Aces held the Fever to only two points. Kelsey Mitchell got Indiana out of its scoring drought with a free throw, jump shot and three-pointer to tie the game 69-69. Caitlin Clark had two turnovers in 20 seconds, where the Aces got a four-point lead. Las Vegas revamped its biggest lead to nine points after seven points from Wilson and a three-pointer by Gray. Wilson continued to run the court and had a huge block on Lexie Hull. The Aces won the game 89-81.
Overall, the Aces finished the game with a 45.1 field goal percentage. Wilson led the team with 24 points. Young was right behind with 19 points, and Gray had 18. Gray had the best performance in the paint with a 66.7 shooting percentage.
