Another Las Vegas Aces WNBA Finals is born. The Aces beat the Indiana Fever in overtime in game five of the WNBA Semifinals, advancing to their third Finals appearance in four years. Las Vegas will play the Phoenix Mercury in the Finals.
The Aces won game one (89-73), four (90-83) and five (107-98) of the semifinal series.
The Aces trailed until four minutes into the game when they took a 9-8 lead. That lead was short-lived when Kelsey Mitchell sank the first three-pointer for the Fever. Las Vegas couldn’t find success in rebounds like Indiana did. The team’s shooting got more consistent at the end of the quarter. Jackie Young made the first three-pointer for the Aces, giving them their second lead of the quarter, 16-15. Megan Gustafson added a three of her own right after. A’ja Wilson and Gustafson each made points inside the paint to finish the quarter tied 23-23.
Dana Evans started the second quarter with a three-pointer before the team went into a two-minute scoring drought. The Fever made a trip to the charity stripe and connected on one to tie the game 28-28. Wilson tied the game at 30-30 after making two free throws. Chelsea Gray made her first basket of the game to help her team take the lead. Four consecutive fouls made it a battle of free throws, where Las Vegas came out with the lead, 34-33. Indiana sped up its offense to get even with the Aces, but Las Vegas finished the half ahead 47-45.
With 13 lead changes and 14 ties in the first half, the game continued to be a tight one. The Aces maintained their lead throughout the quarter, thanks to a strong defense. Las Vegas was able to gain multiple points off turnovers to skyrocket them to a seven-point lead, 59-52. Mitchell sustained an injury at 5:05 and was helped off the court after about a five-minute timeout. Shey Peddy was substituted in for Mitchell. Indiana went on a two-minute scoring drought, and the Aces followed multiple missed shots. The fouls began again, this time allowing the Fever to get within four points of the Aces. Las Vegas held the Fever to under 20 points and kept their lead throughout the 10 minutes, ending the quarter 71-63.
Gray and Wilson got the final quarter started for Las Vegas. The Fever slowly crept up after making two free throws and a layup off a turnover. They also continued to excel in rebounds. With 3:30 remaining, Las Vegas had only a two-point lead of 82-80. Las Vegas suffered a two-minute scoring drought, and the Fever tied the game 86-86.
The game went into a five-minute overtime. Jewell Loyd sank a three-pointer, and Gray made back-to-back threes to give the Aces a five-point lead. Las Vegas went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe and outshot the Fever 21-12 to win the game 107-98.
Wilson led the game with 35 points. Young was right behind with 32 points and 10 assists for a double-double. Las Vegas shot 47.5% from the field and 42.3% from behind the arc.
Up next, the Aces will face the No. 4-seeded Phoenix Mercury and own home court advantage in the best-of-seven championship round. The 2025 WNBA Finals begin on Friday, Oct. 3.
