One night after making franchise history, the Las Vegas Aces landed on the wrong side of a runaway.
Indiana led wire to wire and beat the Aces 109-75 on Sunday at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Las Vegas missed a chance to move into sole possession of first place in the WNBA and fell to 17-7.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 27 points. Sophie Cunningham added 20 off the bench, while Aliyah Boston finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
First punch lost
Sunday looked different almost immediately.
The Aces never trailed during Saturday’s 48-point win over Phoenix. Indiana opened this one with five straight points and never gave Las Vegas the lead.
Chelsea Gray broke the seal with a 3, and Jewell Loyd tied the game at 10 with a putback off an A’ja Wilson miss. However, the Fever kept making shots.
Indiana scored 31 points in the first quarter while shooting 65 percent from the field and 5-for-7 from 3. Mitchell had nine points, and the Fever led 31-22 after one.
Gray kept Las Vegas close with seven points and three assists. Still, the Aces could not slow Indiana’s rhythm.
Heat stays on
The Fever carried that shooting into the second quarter.
Mitchell scored 11 more points in the period and closed the half with a 29-foot 3. Boston added 10 in the quarter as Indiana took a 59-48 lead into halftime.
The Fever shot 59 percent before the break, went 7-for-13 from 3 and made all eight free throws. Las Vegas shot 52 percent overall, but the Aces went 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Wilson had 12 points and six rebounds at halftime. Gray added nine points and five assists, while Jackie Young had eight points.
The Aces were still scoring inside and getting to the line. However, they were losing too much ground on the perimeter.
Rally runs dry
Las Vegas finally made a sustained push after halftime.
Young scored early, Wilson attacked the glass and NaLyssa Smith cut Indiana’s lead to 63-59 with a layup. Dana Evans then hit a 28-foot 3 for her first points of the season, pulling the Aces within 66-62.
That was as close as Las Vegas got.
Mitchell answered with a 3, and Cunningham buried two more late in the quarter. Indiana closed the period on a 14-2 run and took an 80-64 lead into the fourth.
The Aces shot 6-for-21 in the third. Playing their fourth game since July 5, they looked heavy as missed chances piled up.
No fourth gear
Indiana removed any remaining doubt early in the fourth.
Boston scored inside, Caitlin Clark added two baskets and Cunningham kept firing from deep. The Fever stretched the lead beyond 20 before Las Vegas began emptying its bench.
Indiana outscored the Aces 29-11 in the final quarter and led by as many as 34. Las Vegas went 4-for-15 in the period and made one 3.
Cunningham finished 6-for-7 from beyond the arc. Tyasha Harris added 10 points, and Indiana’s bench helped turn a difficult night into a rout.
Numbers tell it
The shooting gap decided the game.
Indiana finished at 56 percent from the field, 48 percent from 3 and 95 percent at the free throw line. The Fever made 15 3-pointers and committed only 10 turnovers.
Las Vegas shot 39 percent overall and went 4-for-17 from 3. The Aces also lost the glass 35-28 despite collecting nine offensive rebounds.
Wilson led Las Vegas with 20 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Young added 15 points, while Gray had nine points and six assists.
Loyd scored eight points, and Evans finished with eight in her season debut. Justine Pissott scored two points in 14 minutes one night after her record-setting debut against Phoenix.
Warning realized
Becky Hammon identified the game’s pressure points before tipoff.
“Obviously, on a back-to-back, energy is my biggest concern,” Hammon said.
She also stressed the need for connected defense against Indiana.
“When we play defense, we’re very difficult to beat,” Hammon said. “When we don’t, we’re very average.”
Sunday showed the difference.
The Aces never found enough defensive resistance, and their brief third-quarter rally ran out of shooting. Indiana kept moving the ball, kept punishing late rotations and never let Las Vegas fully into the game.
Up next
The Aces begin an eight-day break before visiting the Toronto Tempo on July 20 at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. PT.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
