*
Shop at Jay’s Market at 190 East Flamingo Road at the Koval Lane intersection.
*
Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — In this most unusual season, the Las Vegas Aces have found themselves in the WNBA Finals for the third time in four years after a heart-pounding overtime win over a gutsy Indiana Fever team in a winner-take-all Game 5 here in Las Vegas.
The Aces lost the opening game in Las Vegas, but bounced back with wins in Games 2 and 3 before clinching the Finals berth tonight with the 107-98 win.
It was league MVP A’ja Wilson and her sidekick, guard Jackie Young, leading the way for the Aces. Wilson had 35 points, while Young added 32.
Indiana deserved credit for extending Las Vegas to an overtime loss in Game 5. The Fever lost their high-scoring guard, Kelsey Mitchell, to an injury in the third quarter. Center Aliyah Boston fouled out and did not play in OT. Guard Caitlin Clark was out most of the season and missed the playoffs.
The Aces were struggling early in the season and were 14-14 when the team took off on a 16-game winning streak to end the season at 30-14. They beat Seattle, two games to one, in a deciding game Game 3 in the WNBA Playoffs Round 1 and needed all five games to dispatch an Indiana team that was missing key players in OT to win the Semifinals.
It was Aces 71 Fever 63 after third quarter when Mitchell was helped off the floor after an injury midway in the third quarter.
The stakes could not be higher tonight. In a winner-take-all decisive Game 5, an electric crowd packed with Las Vegas Aces fans watched the Aces and Indiana battle in a tenacious first half with the Aces leading the Fever, 47-45.
It was tied at 23 after the first quarter.
The winner plays Phoenix in the WNBA Best-of-7 Finals. The best-of-7 is a new format this season.
Earlier today, Minnesota Lynx star Napheese Collier blasted WNBA leadership and Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Check out this ESPN video:
Engelbert responded:
*
PSA