Monster Crowd Of 17,406 Watches Las Vegas Aces Finish With 34-6 Record Sunday; Aces Lead WNBA In Attendance, Secure Top Seed For Playoffs
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Story by Cassandra Cousineau Photos by Hugh Byrne
It’s a done deal.
With their 100-85 win over the Phoenix Mercury at T-Mobile Arena Sunday, the Las Vegas Aces finished 34-6 and secured the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs.
The defending league champions actually clinched the top spot after the New York Liberty dropped a 90-88 decision to the Washington Mystics earlier Sunday afternoon. This is the second consecutive season that the Aces have secured the No. 1 seed.
A Toyota convention event at Mandalay Bay moved the Aces from Michelob Ultra Arena to T-Mobile Arena, which is not too far away on the Strip for the team’s regular season finale and Wednesday’s scheduled playoff-opener.
The game attracted a record Aces crowd of 17,406. The fans still came through the turnstiles even with the long trail of vehicles leading to the arena, home of the NHL Vegas Golden Knights.
It was also fan appreciation day with all sorts of show tickets, T-shirts, and even autographed merchandise being dispersed around the arena.
Las Vegas wrapped up the season, winning 34 of its 40 games after the WNBA expanded its regular season schedule to 40 games.
The longer season saw Las Vegas break the WNBA record for wins when the Aces hit 30 victories with a 94-87 victory over the Chicago Sky in August.
The Aces led Phoenix for most of the game, relying on a balanced offensive attack. Guard Kelsey Plum scored 30 points.
“It’s one game at a time. You can’t look too far ahead,” Plum said. “You’ll miss it if it’s right in front of you.”
It was A’ja Wilson’s stat line that led head coach Becky Hammon to make the case for the All-Star to win her third MVP trophy. Wilson finished with 36 points on 72 percent shooting, eight rebounds, five steals and three blocks in just 29 minutes.
“She’s better than she was last year. She plays on the best team with the best record,” Hammon said in her post-game press conference.
Before leaving the court, Wilson took the microphone and addressed the massive crowd. The expressive Wilson told the big crowd, “The job is not done. Come back on the 13th,” for Game 1 vs. Chicago.
Las Vegas opens its title defense against the Sky Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena. It’s at 7 PM and on ESPN2.
