GAME STATUS REPORT Riquna Williams, out—lower back.
LAS VEGAS (June 26, 2023)—Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith penned in his memoir that he felt “It was extremely hard to beat a good team three times in a row.” The Las Vegas Aces (12-1) will be looking to do just that when they take on the Indiana Fever (5-8) on June 26 at 7 pm PT at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Not only would a Las Vegas win give them the series sweep over the Fever, but it would be the team’s 11th consecutive win over Indiana dating back to the 2020 bubble season.
Despite their two losses to the Aces, the Fever have already won as many games this year as they did throughout the entirety of the 2022 WNBA season. Las Vegas erased a double-digit fourth quarter road deficit on June 4, upending Indiana 84-80. Wilson’s 27-point, 10-rebound double-double paced the Aces. Rookie Aliyah Boston found herself in foul trouble early, as Las Vegas held her to seven points and four rebounds.
On June 24 in Las Vegas, the Aces took the lead midway through the first quarter and cruised to a 101-88 victory. Led by double-doubles of 28 points and 10 rebounds from A’ja Wilson and 13 points and 12 assists from Chelsea Gray, all five starters scored in double figures for the Aces. NaLyssa Smith secured a double-double for the Fever with 26 points and 11 caroms.
All five Aces starters—Wilson (27.5 ppg and 10.0 rpg), Kelsey Plum (17.5 ppg. 6 of 7 from 3-point range), Chelsea Gray (15.0 ppg and 9.5 apg), Jackie Young (14.5 ppg and 6.0 apg), and Candace Parker (11.0 ppg)—are averaging double figures in scoring against the Fever this year
Against the Aces this season, Smith is averaging a double-double of 18.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg; Kelsey Mitchell shot 6 of 9 from distance and put up 15.5 ppg.; and Boston, who earned the WNBA May Rookie of the Month award and is Indiana’s lone 2023 All-Star starter, posted 12.5 ppg. and 6.5 rpg.
The Aces have three All-Star starters on their roster this year in Wilson, Gray and Young. Wilson, the reigning league MVP, is 7th in the league in scoring (19.3), 6th in rebounding (9.4), 5th in field goal percentage (.535) and 2nd in blocked shots (2.15). In more advanced statistics, the five-time All-Star is 3rd in the league in win shares (3.2), 4th in offensive win shares (2.0), 2nd in defensive win shares (1.2), 7th in offensive efficiency rating (120.1), and 3rd in defensive efficiency rating.
Young, the WNBA’s 2022 Most Improved Player, has taken another leap forward this year, ranking 6th in the league in scoring (20.2), 3rd in field goal percentage (.588), and tied for 2nd in 3-point field goal percentage (.500). The two-time All-Star is also making .818 percent of her shots from the free throw line, giving her the opportunity to become the first player in WNBA history to post a seasonal shooting percentage slash line of .600/.500/.800 or better.
Gray, long known as the Point Gawd, has added Shooting Gawd to her résumé over the past year. She ranks 3rd in the WNBA in assists this season (6.7), but is also making 50.4 percent of her field goal attempts (10th in the league), 50.0 percent of her 3-pointers (1st), and 94.4 percent of her free throw attempts (6th). Over her past 38 games, including the 2022 playoffs, the 2022 WNBA Final MVP is averaging 16.4 points and 6.6 assists while connecting on a shooting percentage slash line of .549/.487/.907.
With their win on Saturday, the Aces moved into No. 3 in league history for victories before a 2nd loss on the season. Should they earn a third win over Indiana, they’ll move into a tie for No. 2 with a 13-1 mark.
W-L Season Team
20-1 2016 Los Angeles Sparks
20-1 1998 Houston Comets
13-1 2017 Minnesota Lynx
13-1 2016 Minnesota Lynx
13-1 2012 Minnesota Lynx
12-1 2023 Las Vegas Aces
The Aces, who have scored 90+ points in all but 2 games this season, currently are ranked 1st in the league in scoring (93.2), blocks (5.8), points in the paint (40.5) field goal percentage (.504) and 3-point field goal percentage (.380); and second for assists (22.4), steals (8.3) and fast break points (13.6) per game.
The Fever are ranked 6th in scoring (83.0), 3rd in rebounding (36.4) and field goal percentage (.448), 7th in assists (18.2) and 3-point field goal percentage (.326), 9th in free throw percentage (.788), 10th in blocked shots (3.1) and 12th in steals (5.4).
NEXT OPPONENT: The Aces have three games remaining in their five-game homestand from June 29-July 5, starting with the No. 3 New York Liberty (9-3) on June 29, No. 2 Connecticut Sun (12-3) on July 1 and No. 6 Dallas Wings (6-8) on July 5.
The game against New York will mark their first official meetings this season. However, it’s not the first time they will have gone toe-to-toe as the Liberty fell 84-77 to the Aces in Las Vegas in the Aces’ lone preseason contest of the year on May 13. The home side jumped out to a double-digit lead after one quarter, and a 20-point advantage at the half, en route to the victory. Plum led all scorers with 22 points.
The Liberty are ranked second in the league in scoring (87.9 ppg.) and rebounding (37.5), and tops in assists (24.0) per game. Led by Breanna Stewart’s 22.5 ppg. and 10.4 rpg., the Liberty are further bolstered by 17.1 ppg., 5.9 rpg. and 4.4 apg. from Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot’s 10.8 ppg. and league-leading 8.6 apg.