The Las Vegas Aces played its first preseason home game on Tuesday, May 6, against the Phoenix Mercury inside Michelob ULTRA Arena. Nike partnered with the Aces to present A’One Night in honor of A’ja Wilson’s first signature shoe, the Pink A’ura.
Deja Kelly on game-winning shot
The Aces’ offense slacked in the second quarter as they had multiple missed shots and turnovers. This allowed the Mercury to tie and take leads throughout the ten minutes. Going into halftime, the Aces trailed by one, 47-46.
Phoenix came out strong in the third quarter, sinking back-to-back threes during a two-minute scoring drought for the Aces. Las Vegas was able to come back from a 64-54 deficit. Free throws made by Aaliyah Nye and Deja Kelly sparked the offense. Tiffany Mitchell made a layup to put the Aces within four of Phoenix. Kelly made a huge three-pointer at the end of the third quarter to put the Aces behind by just one point, 66-65.
It wasn’t long before Las Vegas was back in the lead. Harmoni Turner landed a jump shot for the first points in the fourth quarter. Crystal Bradford sunk a three. The Aces cranked up their defense and took their time on offense. The game was at a 74-74 standstill for two minutes until Nye sunk a three. Mercury was able to take a three-point lead after two points in the paint and one at the charity stripe. Kelly hit back-to-back threes with 24 seconds left in the game. Phoenix took the lead with a layup. Kelly sunk another three to secure the win for the Aces, 85-84.
Extra Game Notes:
- Missing tonight’s game: Dana Evans with a left knee injury, Megan Gustafson with a lower leg injury and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus as she is pregnant.
- Las Vegas went 3-1 against Phoenix in the 2024 regular season.
- The Aces won the first preseason game of the season against Dallas 112-78. Jackie Young led the game with 28 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
