Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Don’t mess with A’ja Wilson in a winner-take-all playoff game.
The Las Vegas Aces superstar scored 36 points in the Aces’ 94-83 win over the Indiana Fever here in Las Vegas Thursday. The Aces await the winner of the Golden State-Dallas series for the WNBA semis. Aces guard Chelsea Gray also had a clutch Game 3 with 23 points as Las Vegas took the Round 1 series, two games to one.
Wilson’s MVP-like performance followed her skirmish with a fan in Indiana where the Fever defeated the Aces two nights ago, setting up tonight’s showdown for Las Vegas with the talented Indy squad led by Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.
It was a fierce and high-scoring first quarter as both teams posted 31 points each in ten minutes.
But the Aces’ three-titles-in-four years experience wore down the Fever. Indiana never led in the second half.
The Aces got double-digit points from guards Chelsea Gray (23 pts) and Jackie Young (18 pts) and a huge jolt from former high-powered scoring machine Jewell Loyd who scored 11 points in the first half, including shooting three of four from three-point land as the Aces were up, 54-48, at halftime.
Indiana closed to 82-77 in the fourth quarter with 3:13 left.
But Las Vegas never let the Fever get close as Wilson’s late-game free throws iced the win.
The Wilson/Gray/Young Big Three accounted for 77 of the Aces’ 94 points. Coach Becky Hammon said she was riding the Big Three and played Gray and Young all 40 minutes each.
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