LAS VEGAS (September 19, 2023)—The Las Vegas Aces advanced to their fifth consecutive WNBA Semifinals, Sunday, and today they learned their opponent as the Dallas Wings beat the Atlanta Dream Tuesday evening, 101-74, to sweep their First Round Playoffs series.
The best 3-out-of-5 Semifinals series begins with Game 1, September 24, at Michelob ULTRA Arena at 2 pm PT on ESPN2. Las Vegas will also play host to Game 2 on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 pm on ESPN2, and if necessary, Game 5 on Tuesday, Oct. 3 on ESPNU. Games 3 and 4 will be played at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas on Friday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 1, respectively.
The Aces went 3-1 against the Wings this season, outscoring Dallas by nearly 10 points per game over the series (93.8 to 84.3 ppg). Kelsey Plum (23.0 ppg) and A’ja Wilson (22.5) both averaged more than 20 points per game, while Chelsea Gray (19.3) and Jackie Young (17.5) joined the duo in posting double-digit scoring averages.
Las Vegas overwhelmingly outshot Dallas with a FG%/3G%/FT% slash line of .479/.466/.882 to .427/.305/.709. The Wings outrebounded the Aces by an average of 3.0 boards per game, including a 46-26 edge on the offensive glass. They also recorded 33 steals to just 17 for Las Vegas.
Both of those statistics played a large roll in Dallas’ lone win in the series—an 80-78 victory on their home court back on July 7. The Wings won the rebound battle that night 36-25, including 10-5 on the offensive end, and recorded 13 steals compared to 7 for the Aces. That helped Dallas to a 46-22 advantage in points in the paint, and a 16-7 advantage in second chance points.
Las Vegas won the other 3 meetings by ever-increasing margins—89-82 on July 5, 104-91 on July 30, and 104-84 on August 8
The Wings had 7 different players average double figures in scoring against the Aces led by Natasha Howard’s 17.8 points per game. Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally each averaged 14.8 points over the 4 games, but neither shot particularly well. Ogunbowale made 33.3 percent of her field goal attempts, and 27.6 percent of her 3-pointers, while Sabally made 40.0 of her shots from the floor, and a much-better 41.2 percent from distance on 17 shots.
This semifinal series also pits the two franchises in WNBA history who have each relocated on two separate occasions. Las Vegas traces its history back to Utah (1997-2002) by way of San Antonio (2003-2017), while Dallas’ lineage goes back to Detroit (1998-2009) via Tulsa (2010-15). The Aces and Wings have not played one another in the playoffs since finding their current homes, but did square off in the 2008 WNBA Finals when Detroit swept San Antonio three games to none.