INDIANAPOLIS (July 24, 2025)—The Las Vegas Aces (12-12) struggled to connect from beyond the arc and in the end, dropped a hard-fought, 80-70 contest to the Indiana Fever (13-12) on Thursday night in Indianapolis. A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 20 points, Jackie Young scored 19 and NaLyssa Smith tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Kelsey Mitchell had a game-high 21 points to pace four Indiana players in double-digit scoring.

Box Score | Photos | Highlights

First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 18, Indiana 18)
The Fever broke an early 5-5 tie with an 11-3 run for a 16-8 lead at 2:59. However, with the help of 6 of 7 down the line from the charity stripe, the Aces closed the quarter on a 10-2 run for the game’s third tie. The Aces hit 41.7% of their field goal attempts, slightly better than the Fever’s 41.2%. The Aces made 8 of 11 free throws; Indiana hit both its tries from the stripe. Young topped the Aces scorers with 6 points and Sophie Cunningham chipped in 5 for the Fever.

Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 41, Indiana 35)
Wilson scored 6 points in an 8-0 run, which moved the Aces ahead 26-18 at 6:44 before the Fever hit its first bucket at 6:38 (26-20). Following an Aces free throw, Indiana made back-to-back 3s in a 8-0 spurt to push ahead 28-27 at 4:06. The lead swapped sides twice and with the Aces trailing 33-29, they scored the game’s next 9 to reclaim the lead and go up 38-33 with less than a minute remaining. A pair of Fever free throws and a Young 3 closed the first half’s scoring. Las Vegas hit 10 of 22 (.455) from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point, while holding Indiana, which was 3 of 6 from distance, to 6 of 16 (.375) overall. The Aces scored 10 points off 8 Fever turnovers and gave up just 3 off their own trio of miscues. Wilson scored a high of 8 and Indiana was led by Mitchell’s 5.

Third Quarter Highlights (Indiana 62, Las Vegas 56)
A 10-4 Fever run out of the gate knotted the score at 45-all in the first 2:42 of the second half. After one more tie and 5 lead changes, the Aces held a 56-54 edge at 3:02. However, the Aces were unable to connect on their last 5 attempts of the quarter, while the Fever closed on an 8-0 run for a 6-point lead at the end of the frame. The Aces connected on just 35.3% from the field and missed all 3 attempts from distance, while the Fever shot 42.9% from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point. Chelsea Gray scored a high of 5 for the Aces; Natasha Howard tallied 11 for the home side.

Fourth Quarter Highlights (Indiana 80, Las Vegas 70)
Las Vegas closed to 4 points twice, the last was 64-60 at 8:02. Indiana never pulled away by more than 9 points, including a 75-66 lead with 2:20 remaining. The Aces scored the next two buckets and with 1:33 to play, it was a 5-point game, 75-70. However, after the Aces were unable to score, Indiana put up another 3-pointer for an 8-point spread with less than 35 seconds on the clock. Forced to foul to stop the clock, Las Vegas sent Indiana to the line for the final points of the night. Las Vegas made 37.5% of their field goal attempts to Indiana’s 41.2%. Three different Aces scored 4 apiece in the final frame, while Mitchell went 4 of 5 to finish with 9.

KEY STATS
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The 2 made and 15 attempted 3-pointers were the fewest made (3) and tied for the fewest attempted by the Aces this season.

The Aces held a 38-32 edge in points in the paint, Indiana outscored Las Vegas 7-2 in fast break points and each team scored 10 apiece on second chances.

The Fever’s largest lead of the game came at the end (10 points) and the Aces were up by as many as 8 twice in the first half.

The Aces capitalized on 16 points from 14 Indiana turnovers, but gave up 15 points off their own 14 miscues.

Las Vegas was cold from beyond the arc, shooting 13.3% (2-15 3pt FGs), while Indiana shot 47.8% (11-23 3pt FGs) from distance.

Both teams shot similarly from the field: the Aces netted 40.3% (27-67 FGs), while the Fever connected on 40.8% (29-71 FGs).

The Aces outrebounded the Fever 37-36, but their opponent recorded more assists, 17-12.

Each team’s bench contributed 4 points apiece.

There were 11 lead changes and 5 ties in the game.

Score by Period

GAME NOTES

Smith’s double-double marked the 30th of her career and second of the season — her first with the Aces.

Wilson scored at least 20 points for the 150th time in her career, which ranks No. 5 among all-time WNBA career leaders. Cappie Pondexter and Breanna Stewart are tied at No. 3 with 152.

Wilson entered the game with 554 assists and her 2 moved her out of a tie and into sole possession of No. 6 among all-time franchise assist leaders. Danielle Robinson is No. 5 with 841. Wilson now has 556 career assists with the franchise.

Loyd now has 5,797 points for her career, which ranks tied for No. 19 in WNBA history. Brittney Griner is No. 18 with 5,803. Wilson now has 5,228 points and moved past Skylar Diggins (5,225) and into the No. 24 spot. Next up is No. 23 Lindsay Whalen (5,225).

The Aces were without Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (pregnancy).

UP NEXT: The Aces are back on the court in less than 24 hours when they take on the Minnesota Lynx (21-4) in Minneapolis on Friday, July 25, at 4:30 p.m. PT on ION and Vegas 34.