The Las Vegas Aces took on the Indiana Fever for the third time this season. The Aces lead the series 2-0, with both wins taking place on their home court.
The Fever looked to beat the Aces for the first time since 2019. A win for the Fever would also mean that they have beaten every opponent this season, which would be just the second time in franchise history that they have gotten a win against each team.
The magic number was 11 due to two reasons: A'ja Wilson was 11 points away from breaking the single-season record for the most points in a WNBA season and Caitlin Clark was 11 assists away from breaking the single-season record for the most assists in a WNBA season.
Game Recap
The Fever wasted no time getting it going with a 7-0 run to kick things off. That led to a quick timeout by Becky Hammon, who has been vocal about her team needing to set the tone early on the defensive end.
Las Vegas answered with an 8-3 run, with A'ja Wilson scoring all eight points. She scored the first 10 points before Tiffany Hayes came in and scored the next five. The only other Aces player to score outside of those two was Jackie Young.
After a slow start, the defense picked up and the Aces were able to end the first quarter with their first lead of the game. Wilson and Hayes combined for 18 of the team's 20 points in the quarter.
They increased their lead to nine thanks to a 10-3 run to begin the second quarter.
Alysha Clark came into the game with the hot hand. She scored nine points on 3/3 3FG in the quarter. Indiana answered with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 5, but the Aces immediately pushed their lead to double digits.
With 26.1 seconds left in the second quarter, Wilson hit a jump shot to set the new WNBA record for the most points scored in a season. She passed Jewell Loyd, who set the record last season with 939 points in 38 games. For Wilson, this was the 35th game.
Both teams came out aggressive on both ends of the floor to begin the second half. After being down by as many as 12, the Fever were able to get the lead down to one. But the Aces made back-to-back threes to push the lead back to eight.
The game became extra physical as several players collided with each other. Nalyssa Smith and Chelsea Gray collided with each other midway through the third quarter, with the foul being called on Gray. Both players were shaken up, but able to walk it off.
Less than a minute later, Caitlin Clark and Jackie Young collided with each other after going for a loose ball. The foul was called on Young, and Hammon challenged the ball as she believed Clark initiated contact first. The call was upheld, and Young had to sit on the bench as that was her fourth foul.
Emotions started running high as Becky Hammon was called for a technical foul a few minutes later. She was livid after the officials waited too long to give Wilson the ball after being fouled by Aliyah Boston, which allowed the Fever to look at the play and then challenge the call.
Fortunately for the Aces, the call was upheld and that would become Boston's fifth foul. She would have to sit for an extended period of time, not going back in until there was about three minutes left in the quarter.
Despite Boston being on the bench, the Fever managed to keep the game from getting completely out of hand. Both teams took turns hitting threes to begin the fourth quarter, with Aces winning the three point battle. Yet, the Fever kept the game close as the Aces went three minutes without a made field goal.
Indiana had plenty of chances to cut the lead even further, but missed too many shots plus left points at the free throw line. Wilson hit two jumpshots plus a dagger three by Alysha Clark to seal the win for Las Vegas.
The final meeting will take place on Friday, September 13. The Aces can complete the season series sweep while the Fever have one more chance to get a win over the Aces, which would give them a win versus each team this season.
A'ja Wilson led the Aces with 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Not only did she set the record for the most points scored in a season, but she can become the first player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 points in a season. After this game, she is 44 points away with four games left in the regular season.
Alysha Clark finished with 14 points, followed by Tiffany Hayes with 12 points along with five rebounds and Chelsea Gray with 11 points. Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 24 points, followed by Cailtin Clark with 16 points along with six assists.
Photo Courtesy: @WNBA/X
No comments:
Post a Comment