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Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals between the No. 2-seed Las Vegas Aces and No. 6-seed Indiana Fever was an instant classic.
The contest matched the overall quality of the series as neither team relented, so much so that the game couldn’t be decided in regulation and needed overtime to determine a winner. When the five minutes of overtime were done, it was the Aces who came out on top, winning 107-98.
The Fever pushed the Aces to the brink on their homecourt. In case the fact that overtime was required doesn’t already signify this, then consider these statistics: This game had 13 lead changes, was tied 16 times and the Fever backcourt featured Odyssey Sims scoring 27 points and Shey Peddy contributing 13 points from off the bench.
The Aces ultimately prevailed thanks to an incredible performance from the league’s MVP A’ja Wilson. She had 35 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Jackie Young held things down in the backcourt with 32 points and 10 assists, and Chelsea Gray put the nail in Indiana’s coffin, scoring eight of Las Vegas’ 21 overtime points. She ended the night with 17.
In Wilson’s postgame interview, she wanted to acknowledge the team effort required to earn the win by inviting all of her teammates to join her. The mood was a combination of joy, jubilation and relief that this hard-fought series was finally done.
The Aces now are back in the WNBA Finals. They’ve reached the championship series in three of the last four seasons. They’ll be hosting the No. 4-seed Phoenix Mercury beginning on Friday.
Despite the game ending in overtime, the prospect of this being a tight contest down the stretch didn’t look likely to start the fourth quarter.
The Aces were up by seven entering the final period, Kelsey Mitchell was done for the night due to excessive cramping and Aliyah Boston already had five personal fouls. However, as the Fever have done all year, they dug themselves out of a precarious situation.
Both teams exchanged baskets during the opening minutes. The Fever scored largely from their guards Sims, Peddy and Lexie Hull, while the Aces played an inside-outside game with Wilson and Young. Midway through the quarter, the Aces were still up by seven, but the Fever began their run. Sims knocked down a pair of free throws, and then Aerial Powers made a basket to cut the deficit down to three. Young countered with a 3-pointer for Las Vegas, but Indiana responded with Boston and Sims scoring to make it a one-possession game again. Wilson scored another midrange basket, and then the Fever evened things up thanks to a Boston field goal and Sims’ scoring on a pair of free throws. Sims was sensational from the line all night, going 12-for-13 from the charity stripe.
The final minute of regulation was a mad dash of hustle and effort from both sides. There were misses from each team, but the biggest event was a foul committed by Boston. It eliminated her from the contest, and after a failed coach’s challenge by Indiana, Young made both of her free throws to put Las Vegas up by two.
With 26.4 seconds left, the Fever had one more chance to keep their season alive. Wilson tried to jump ahead of the inbounds pass and steal the ball from Sims, but she missed and ended up giving the Fever a one player advantage as she was now out of the play. Sims capitalized, scoring in the paint with 22.5 seconds to go.
Now, Las Vegas had a chance to take the final shot, and they did. However it was a brick by Young as they curiously never went to Wilson. The game was even at 86 entering overtime.
In overtime, the Aces got 3-point happy with three of their first four field goals coming from deep. The Fever were down by six, but with another basket from Sims and a rainbow 3 by Peddy, Indiana stayed alive, down by three with 22.6 seconds. The Aces just needed to protect the ball and make their free throws the rest of the way, and they did just that. Young and Wilson made six-straight free throws to end the game and finally put the Fever to rest.
Indiana can hold their head high after this postseason run.
What they did without Caitlin Clark, Aari McDonald, Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson, before Mitchell then missed most of the second half and Boston fouled out in the fourth, defies logic.
Las Vegas was pushed to the brink, but when the moment came, Wilson proved why she is the best player in the world, and Young showed she’s her co-star.
The Aces are back in the championship series after turning their season around with a historic 17-game winning streak. The job is not finished, though. They host Phoenix on Friday, looking for the first of four wins that will secure the franchise a third title.
