Las Vegas Fights to the Finish for 84-72 Semifinal Game 3 Victory Over Indiana
WNBA Las Vegas Aces

Las Vegas Fights to the Finish for 84-72 Semifinal Game 3 Victory Over Indiana

Published on September 26, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Las Vegas Aces News Release


INDIANAPOLIS - The Las Vegas Aces are one win away from advancing to the 2025 WNBA Finals after pulling away from the Indiana Fever in the final frame for an 84-72 victory on Friday night in Indianapolis. Jackie Young led all scorers with 25 points in Game 3 of the best-of-five semifinals. Rounding out the five Aces double-digit scorers were NaLyssa Smith, who scored 16 points, Chelsea Gray had 15 and dished out 6 assists, A'ja Wilson finished with 13 points, 8 boards and 3 blocks and Dana Evans checked in for 10 points.

Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points to lead 3 Fever players in double figures.

Box Score | Gallery | Highlights

TEAM 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final

Aces 20 15 24 25 84

Fever 16 18 22 16 72

First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 20, Indiana 16)

A 3-pointer by Wilson 23 seconds into the game got the scoring started and the Aces retained their lead, going up as many as 7 points twice, including 20-14 after a Megan Gustafson 3-pointer with 43.3 seconds on the clock. The Aces shot 42.1% (8-19 FGs) from the field and were 2 of 5 from deep, while the Fever made 41.2% (7-17 FGs) overall but just 1 of 6 (.167) from 3. Young and Aliyah Boston scored 6 apiece for their respective sides.

Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 35, Indiana 34)

The Aces scored the first 6 points for a 26-16 lead, but the Fever notched the next 4 to cut it to 26-19 at 7:25. Gray hit a free throw off a defensive 3-second call to make it 31-23 at 3:29. However, at 2:27, Indiana netted a trio of 3s in as many possessions in an 11-4 spurt that sliced the Aces lead to 1 by halftime. Shooting dropped for both teams, with the Aces making 38.9% of their attempts, including 0 of 2 from distance; Indiana shot just 29.2% overall but was 3 of 7 (.429) from deep. Indiana outrebounded Las Vegas 18-9, including 9-1 on the offensive glass. Gray scored a high of 5 for Las Vegas, Mitchell had 9 for the hosts.

Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 59, Indiana 56)

No more than 5 points separated the teams throughout the third (Indiana, 47-42 at 6:46), which had 4 ties and 4 lead changes. The final knotted score came at 2:03 when Wilson put up 2 points at 2:03. After a Fever miss, the Aces fumbled the ball and Indiana converted it into a 3-pointer at 1:14. Wilson got her third bucket of the game with 50.4 seconds on the clock, then Evans and Young scored the final 4 after Indiana had a miss and turnover in its last two possessions. The Aces connected on 10 of 14 (.714) from the field, 2 of 3 behind the arc, while the Fever were limited to 6 of 17 (.353) from the field and 2 of 6 from distance. However, the Fever shot 8 of 10 from the line to 2 of 2 by Las Vegas. Young led all scorers with 11 points, Mitchell scored 7 for the Fever.

Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 84, Indiana 72)

The Aces defense clamped down in the fourth, resulting in Indiana missing its first 8 field goal attempts and coughing up the ball twice. Meanwhile, the Aces went on a 12-3 run - Indiana hit 3 of 6 from the line - for a 71-59 lead with 3:08 to play. The Fever connected on its first field goal of the final frame with 2:25 on the clock to bring the score to 71-61. With the Aces holding a 75-65 lead, Indiana attempted to stretch the final 67 seconds by stopping the clock, but the Aces hit 9 of 10 from the line and the Fever came no closer than 8. Las Vegas made 57.1% (8-14 FGs) from the field, did not attempt any 3s and went 9 of 11 from the line; Indiana was held to 37.5% (6-16 FGs) overall, 1 of 5 from 3 and 3 of 7 from the charity stripe. Evans, Smith and Wilson scored 6 apiece and Shey Peddy had 5 for Indiana.

KEY STATS

The ACLU is currently tracking 616 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States.

After the regular season saw just a combined 61 defensive 3-second violations called over all WNBA games, and entering today's game there was just 1 whistled to date in the playoffs, there were 3 called in the first half.

The Aces shot 33 of 65 (.508) from the floor, including 4 of 10 behind the arc; the Fever made 26 of 73 (.356) and 7 of 23 (.304) from 3-point.

The Aces scored on 14 of 17 from the line, 5 of 6 through the first 3 quarters and 9 of 11 in the final 1:07 of play, while the Fever made 13 of 21 at the charity stripe overall.

Indiana won the battle on the boards 39-26, including 16-4 on the offensive end.

The Aces outscored the Fever 48-34 in the paint and 6-2 on the fast break but the Fever owned a 13-10 edge on second chance points.

GAME NOTES

Smith entered the game with 42 career playoff points and notched her 50th midway through her 16 points. She now has 58.

Smith had a playoff career-high 4 blocked shots.

Wilson moved past Candace Parker (360) and into the No. 1 spot for all-time 2-point field goals made in playoff games with 364.

Wilson has scored in double-figures in each of her last 28 playoff games, which is the longest active streak in the league.

Wilson has now amassed 991 career playoff points and needs 9 more to become the 7th athlete in playoff history with at least 1,000 points.

With her 8 rebounds, Wilson how has 480 career playoff boards and is 20 away from becoming the 5th WNBA athlete with at least 500 playoff rebounds. She also lists No. 6 among all-time playoff rebounders and 5 away from moving past Jonquel Jone s and into No. 5.

Wilson blocked 3 shots and her 108 broke a tie with Brittney Griner and Wilson now sits alone at No. 3, trailing No. 2 Parker (117) and No. 1 Lisa Leslie (132).

Young grabbed her 200th career playoff rebound and now has 204.

Entering with 566 career playoff points, Young now has 591 and needs 9 more to become the 32nd player in W history with at least 600 playoff points.

Gray's 6 assists moved her past Lindsay Whalen (341) and into the No. 4 spot for all-time playoff assists leaders. Her 345 trails the 359 dished by Alyssa Thomas before the Mercury's game tonight.

With her 2 steals, Gray now has 71 playoff steals and moved into a tie with No. 11 Sheryl Swoopes. Three players are tied at No. 8 with 72 and No. 7 is DeLisha Milton-Jones with 73 playoff steals.

NEXT UP: The series remains in Indiana for Game 4, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 28, at 12 pm PT on ABC. Game 5, if necessary, will be played in Las Vegas Tuesday, Sept. 30 (time TBD) on ESPNU.

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