Aces' Bench Shines as Las Vegas Takes Game 1 of WNBA Finals Over Phoenix, 89-86
WNBA Las Vegas Aces

Aces' Bench Shines as Las Vegas Takes Game 1 of WNBA Finals Over Phoenix, 89-86

Published on October 3, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Las Vegas Aces News Release


LAS VEGAS - In a game that went down to the wire, the Las Vegas Aces (1-0) relied on their depth, getting 41 points from the bench, in an 89-86 victory over the Phoenix Mercury (0-1) in WNBA Finals Game 1 on Friday evening in Michelob ULTRA Arena. A'ja Wilson recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and a pair of blocked shots; Dana Evans checked in to tally 21 points and 4 steals; Jewell Loyd came off the bench for 18 points, Jackie Young had 10 points and 5 assists; and Chelsea Gray dished out 10 assists to go with 8 points and 7 rebounds.

Kahleah Copper scored 21 to lead five Mercury players in double figures, Satou Sabally had 19 and Alyssa Thomas notched a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double.

First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 21, Phoenix 21)

After a field goal from Wilson, Phoenix scored the game's next 10 points as its defense held the Aces to 0 of 7 shooting from the field. The Aces got back on track and began pulling back and trailed 15-10 at 4:29. Trailing 21-14, Loyd got a feed inside from Wilson at 2:05, followed by a Gray 3-pointer and another Loyd bucket that knotted the score 21-all with less than a minute remaining for the final points of the quarter. Despite the 1 of 8 shooting to open the game, the Aces finished 8 of 20 (.400) from the field but just 1 of 6 (.167) from 3-point, while the Mercury netted 7 of 19 (.368) from the field and 1 of 8 (.125) from distance. Loyd topped all scorers with 8 points and Copper had 7 for Phoenix.

Second Quarter Highlights (Phoenix 50, Las Vegas 45)

After 5 lead changes and 4 tied scores, Phoenix moved ahead 39-36 on its fourth 3 of the quarter at 5:22. The Aces remained close and were within a point, 41-40, with 4:04 to go before half. The Mercury hit a trio of 3s over the final 3:44, outscoring the Aces 9-5 for the 5-point halftime lead. Phoenix found its shot in the second, going 11 of 15 (.733) from the floor and 7 of 9 (.778) behind the arc. The Aces made 10 of 18 (.556) of their field goal attempts but only 3 of 7 (.429) from deep. Evans had 10 points on 4 of 5 from the floor and Copper scored 12, all from 3-point.

Third Quarter Highlights (Phoenix 71, Las Vegas 67)

Scoring in the third was akin to a pendulum with each team trading mini runs, the largest of which was 9-0 by Phoenix that put the visitors in front 66-57 at 3:36. The Aces responded with an 8-0 run, slicing the gap to 66-65. The Mercury stopped the Aces run with a 3 before a pair of field goals from each side ended the frame. Las Vegas made 8 of 17 (.471) from the floor but just 1 of 7 (.143) behind the arc, whereas Phoenix made 50% overall and upped it to 57.1% (4-7 3pt FGs) from deep. Wilson led the Aces with 6 points and Monique Akoa Makani had 9 for Phoenix.

Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 89, Phoenix 86)

Phoenix retained its lead until a 3-pointer from Evans put the Aces up 78-77 at 6:46. The lead see-sawed a bit until Wilson knotted the score, 82-82, at 4:48. Evans hit another 3 at 3:40 to break the tie and give the Aces the lead for good. The game remained close and with 51.5 seconds remaining was a 1-point game after a driving layup by Thomas made it 87-86. Thomas blocked Wilson on the next possession and then was sent to the line on the other end. Thomas missed both her tries with 24.6 seconds on the clock. Gray grabbed the rebound off the second miss and got the ball to Young, who was fouled with 13.5 seconds left. Young, who made 91.7% of her free throws in the first 7 games of the playoffs, swished in both for a 89-86 lead. After a Phoenix reset timeout, the ball was in Sabally's hands and her potential game winner was off the mark. Young secured the rebound and dribbled it out for the win. The Aces made 41.2% (7-17 FGs) from the floor and 57.1% (4-7 3pt FGs) in the final frame, while Phoenix went 33.3% (6-18 FGs) overall and a frigid 16.7% (2-12 3ptFGs) from distance. Evans made 3 3-pointers for 9 points and Thomas had a high of 5 for the Mercury.

KEY STATS

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Las Vegas shot 45.8% (33-72 FGs), including 33.3% (9-27 3pt FGs) from beyond the arc; the Mercury made 31 of 66 (.470) and 14 of 36 (.389) from 3-point range.

The Aces scored on 14 of 20 (.700) from the charity stripe, while the Mercury made 10 of 13 (.769) of its free throws.

Phoenix edged the Aces on the boards 35-33.

The Aces outscored the Merc 34-30 in the paint and 13-10 on the fast break, but Phoenix owned an 8-4 edge on second chance points.

The Mercury had 14 turnovers that resulted in 20 Aces points, while the Aces tallied 7 turnovers that turned into 10 Mercury points.

There were 12 lead changes and 9 ties, including 6 lead changes and 4 ties in the second quarter alone.

The Aces bench outscored the Mercury's reserves 41-16.

GAME NOTES

Evans, who was 5 of 6 from 3-point, became the first player in WNBA Finals history with at least 5 3-pointers and 4 steals in a single game, and 4th to do so in any type of playoff series.

Gray entered the game with 192 career postseason rebounds and with 7 tonight, needs 1 more to reach 200. With her next board, Gray will become the third player in W history with at least 800 points, 200 rebounds and 300 assists in postseason play.

Loyd entered the game 19 points away from her 500th career postseason point. With her next point, she will become the 46th player in W history to hit that mark.

Wilson now has 24 postseason double-doubles, which ranks No. 4 on the W's all-time list. Catchings and Parker are tied at No. 2 with 27 apiece and Thomas leads with 29.

Wilson became the 5th player in WNBA history to grab at least 500 rebounds in postseason play, and now has 507. She was the fastest (52 games) and youngest (29 years, 56 days), eclipsing the previous fastest, Tamika Catchings (55 games), and youngest, Rebekkah Brunson (34 years, 305 days).

With her 10 rebounds tonight, Wilson became the 2nd player in W playoff history with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists and 100 blocked shots. Candace Parker was the first and did so in her 61st playoff game at 36 years, 126 days.

Gray dished out 4 or more assists in each of her last 23 games (regular season and playoffs), the W's third-longest active streak.

Wilson has now scored in double figures, including 13 30-point games, each of the past 33 games, including playoffs, which is the league's longest active streak for double-digit scoring.

Wilson has blocked at least 2 shots in each of her last 15 games (regular season and playoffs), the longest active streak and the 5th longest ever recorded in WNBA history.

With her 2 blocks tonight, Wilson tied Lisa Leslie for multi-block postseason games (38), tied Candace Parker for second in postseason blocks (117) and set the WNBA record for longest multi-block game streak in a single postseason (9).

With 21 points tonight, Wilson (1,078) passed Maya Moore (1,077) for the 5th spot on the league's all-time playoff scoring list.

Wilson is now tied with Candace Parker with 117 blocked shots apiece on the league's all-time playoff blocked shots list. Lisa Leslie leads with 132.

Wilson passed Catchings (112) and Cheryl Ford (110) and moved into a tie with Parker at No. 7 with 118 rebounds in Finals games.

Wilson (20) moved into a tie with Leslie at No. 8 on the W's Finals blocked shots list and moved passed No. 10 Diana Taurasi, and No. 11 Moore and Breanna Stewart with her 2 blocked shots tonight.

Gray broke a tie with Courtney Vandersloot and Natasha Howard with 62 career playoff games for the No. 9 spot and is now tied with Jonquel Jones with 18 Finals games under her belt in the 6th spot.

Gray (26) passed Deanna Nolan (25) for the No. 5 spot on the league's Finals steals list.

UP NEXT: The Aces and Mercury meet again Sunday at noon on ABC for Game 2.

Check out the Las Vegas Aces Statistics

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from October 3, 2025


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