LAS VEGAS (Sept. 27, 2026) – Behind a dominating 38-point, 16-rebound performance from A’ja Wilson, the Las Vegas Aces opened the first round of playoffs with a 102-85 victory over the visiting Indiana Fever on Sunday afternoon in Michelob ULTRA Arena. Las Vegas was further bolstered by 21 points and 10 assists from Jackie Young, 14 points and 8 dimes from Chelsea Gray, and 10 points from Jewell Loyd. Wilson, who equaled her playoff career highs for both points and boards, added 4 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists to her double-double.

Indiana had five players finish with double-digit scoring, led by Aliyah Boston’s 18 points. Caitlin Clark, Indiana’s second leading scorer, recorded a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists.

Stats | Gallery | Highlights

TEAM	1	2	3	4	Final
Aces	27	35	24	16	102
Fever	23	24	18	20	85

1st Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 27, Indiana 23)
After Indiana put the first points on the board, the Aces scored the next 6. Scoring went back and forth from there and after a pair of tied scores, the Fever edged ahead 16-14. However, the Aces countered with a 10-0 spurt to reclaim the lead, 24-16. Back-to-back 3s from the Fever in a 7-3 quarter-ending spurt narrowed it to 4 at the end of the first quarter. The Aces connected on 57.9% from the field and 3 of 7 beyond the arc; Indiana was held to 38.1% overall but made 4 of 7 from deep. Wilson had 9 points in the opening frame and two Fever players scored 6 apiece

2nd Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 62, Indiana 47)
The game remained close and after three knotted scores over the first 3 and a half minutes, the Aces held a 40-38 lead. A 9-0 run bookended by a pair of Young buckets gave Las Vegas its first double-digit lead of the day, 49-38. It dipped to 9 on 3 occasions, but a Wilson 3 put the Aces up by 12, 57-45, with a minute and a half left, and the Aces expanded it to a 15-point lead at halftime. The Aces upped their shooting to a blistering 72.2% from the field and 4 of 6 from deep, while the Fever also improved and made 60% of their tries but just 2 of 6 from afar. Wilson scored a high of 13 and Boston and Clark notched 7 apiece.

3rd Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 86, Indiana 65)
The Fever opened the second half shooting 1 of 10 from the field, while the Aces expanded their advantage to 71-50 and the difference never dropped below 19 points the remainder of the frame. Hot shooting by the Aces continued as they made 57.1% of their attempts and went 2 of 3 from 3-point, while Indiana dropped to 36.8% shooting in the quarter, including 4 of 12 from distance. Wilson led the field with 8 points and three different Indiana players put up 5 apiece.

4th Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 102, Indiana 85)
The Fever never drew closer than 15 points in the final frame. The Aces netted 46.2% of their field goal attempts but missed all 3 behind the arc; the Fever made 50% of their shots and were 2 of 6 from deep. Wilson scored 8 to once again pace the field and no Indiana player scored more than 4.

KEY STATS
The ACLU is currently tracking 531 anti-LGBTQ+ bills across our nation, zero of which are in Nevada.

Women still make just 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. Black women earn only 64 cents and Latinas only 54 cents for each dollar earned by white men.

Both teams had 17 turnovers and the Aces scored 28 off Indiana’s and gave up just 18 points on the other end. In contrast, the Aces gave up 13.1 and the Fever 15.0 points off turnovers in the regular season.

Indiana’s largest lead was 2 points and the Aces went up by as many as 27.

The Fever’s final advantage was 34-33 after a Boston 3-pointer at 7:47 in the second quarter. Gray hit a pair of free throws at 7:32 and the Aces never again trailed.

There were 5 lead changes and 6 tied scores.

Young’s 10 assists led to 24 points and Gray’s 8 were converted into 20.

	FGM-A	PCT	3PM-A	PCT	FTM-A	PCT	OFF	DEF	REB	AT	PF	ST	TO	BK
Aces	38-64	.594	9-19	.474	17–20	.850	5	26	31	24	18	8	16	6
Fever	30-67	.448	12–31	.387	13-14	.929	8	16	24	30	25	8	16	0

Points scored ….

	In the Paint	2nd Chance	Fast Break	Off TOs	Bench
Aces	34	7	14	28	21
Fever	36	5	15	18	33

GAME NOTES

Wilson recorded the 4th playoff game with at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in WNBA history— and is the only person to do it twice (9/17/2023). Lisa Leslie (8/7/2001) and Breanna Stewart (10/2/2020) also recorded a playoff game with that stat line. Add in 2 steals and she’s the only one to record such a game, and did so both times.

Gray became just the 12^th player in WNBA postseason history to score at least 900 points and now has 911.

Mai Yamamoto recorded her first points in playoff history and finished with 4.

Wilson’s 27^th career playoff double-double moved her into a tie with Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker; Alyssa Thomas owns the record with 31.

Young’s double-double was the 3^rd of her playoff career.

The Aces recorded the 44^th 100-point game in WNBA history and 7^th in franchise history, 6 of which came since 2022 under the tutelage of Becky Hammon and the first was a game in which Hammon played (8/30/2007).

Young notched her 250^th career playoff field goal made and her total of 254 is good for No. 21 all-time.

Wilson, who now has 560 playoff rebounds, became just the 5^th in league history to haul in 550 in postseason play; she also is just the 3^rd player with at least 450 career defensive rebounds and now has 456.

With her 9 assists, Gray moved past Courtney Vandersloot (390) and into the No. 2 slot in playoff history and now has 397; Young moved up from No. 11 to 10 after passing DeWanna Bonner (211) and now has 215 playoff assists. No. 1 on the list is Thomas with 410.

Gray moved from No. 12 to No. 9 for playoff scoring, passing Seimone Augustus (901), Thomas (903) and Leslie (908); Young moved from a tie with Hammon (722) at No. 18, past Katie Douglas (730) and into the No. 17 position with 743 points.

Wilson started at No. 3 and bumped past Bonner (448) and into the No. 2 spot for field goals made with a total of 455; Gray broke a tie with Griner (341) and moved into a tie with Leslie (345) at No. 10.

Wilson entered the game tied at No. 15 with Tina Thompson (100) for offensive rebounds and now sits alone at No. 15 with 104.

Entering the game at No. 4 with 444 defensive rebounds, Wilson moved past Tamika Catchings (449) and into the No. 3 position with 456.

Wilson and Young are now tied at No. 16 with Swin Cash, Douglas and Maya Moore for most playoff games (56) and Gray, with 66 playoff games, moved into a tie at No. 7 with Candace Parker.

The Aces were without the services of Dana Evans (right knee).

Up Next: Game 2 of the best-of-three quarterfinals is slated for Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Indianapolis. Tip is at 3:30 p.m. and it will be televised on Prime. Game 3, if necessary, will be back in Las Vegas at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Thursday, Oct. 1. Tip time is TBD.

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