Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) celebrates a successful play during WNBA game against Indiana Fever on Sunday June 22 2025 in Las Vegas. Kalin Sipes – The Sporting Tribune

By Rich Perez

The Las Vegas Aces put an end to their three-game losing streak beating the Indiana Fever 89-81 Sunday. They trailed for three quarters but powered through the fourth quarter. After being shut down in the first half, A’Ja Wilson scored 20 points in the second half and finishing with 24 points. It was an amazing comeback as the Aces begin to chip away at the standings now tied for seventh place. This was the Aces 16th straight win over the Fever.

Game recap: The Aces got an early 6-2 lead but the Fever responded taking as much as a five point lead. The two teams fought hard for the rest of the quarter and after the first ten minutes of play, the Fever had a one-point lead 21-20 in a hotly contested game.

Chelsea Gray hit a buzzer beater for two points to end the quarter. The Fever’s Aliyah Boston had already shot for ten points and the Aces would need to contain her going into the second quarter. A’Ja Wilson had a slow start only hitting a single basket but had three rebounds. The Fever were doing a great job shutting her down. Gray had the high for Las Vegas with five points.

In the early minutes of the second quarter the Fever extended their lead to 26-22. The Aces answered with a Dana Evans shot from downtown to tie up the game 28-28 at 6:19. Caitlin Clark had scored only two points but she had eight assists connecting with Aliyah Boston numerous times.

The Fever were making life pretty miserable for A’Ja Wilson keeping her pretty locked down. Indiana went on a run extending their lead to 37-28 prompting Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon to call a timeout before the game got out of hand.

A’Ja Wilson finally got her second basket of the game but Clark came right back shooting over the defense for her first three of the game and the Fever had taken a 40-30 lead. The Aces were struggling from the floor shooting for only 36% while the Fever were hot shooting at 54%.

Las Vegas continued to struggle on the floor trailing at the half 36-42. They would have a lot of work to do in the second half. They needed to find a way to disrupt the Clark-Boston connection which was a huge part of the Fever’s lead.

The Fever’s Aliyah Boston had the game high at the half with 18 points. The Aces struggles on the floor resulted in not a single player in double digits at halftime. The Fever had held Wilson to 1-12 field goals.

The last time the Fever had beaten the Aces was back in 2019. If the first half was any indication, Las Vegas was going to have to step up big time in the second half. It was not a huge point deficit by any means but they had to find a way to shut down Boston and start hitting those floor shots that they had been missing in the first half.

The Aces continued to trail in the third quarter, struggling from the floor, missing open shots while the Fever’s Aliyah Boston continued to dominate. With 4:09 left in the quarter Boston had hit 22 points.

The Aces continued to trail by six points throughout most of the third quarter. With 2.22 left on the clock, the Aces pulled to within four points but the Fever countered with a two point play and going into the fourth quarter the Fever were holding onto a 61-58 lead.

The final quarter got underway with the Aces pulling to within a single point 60-61. Las Vegas took the lead 63-61 for the first time since the first quarter when Aaliyah Nye hit a three. Nye had 11 points off the bench and Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young had all reached double digits.

With 7:58 left in the game the Aces were clinging to a 65-63 lead and desperately needing stops. Las Vegas got a couple of stops and made good on them pushing their lead out to 69-63 going on a 15-2 run with 6:16 left on the clock.

The Fever gobbled up the Las Vegas lead and with five minutes left in the game it was all tied up at 69. A crucial coaches challenge was won by the Aces and with under two minutes left in the game Las Vegas had a 83-75 lead.

A’Ja Wilson had hit 16 points in the second half making good on her claim at the half that she would “just keep on shooting.” With under a minute Las Vegas had established an 84-79 lead and this game was going down to the wire.

A second challenge in as many minutes was also won by the Aces and Jackie Young hit a couple of free throws giving Las Vegas an 86-81 lead with 40 ticks left on the clock. The final was 89-81.

If a team can stay close and close out the fourth quarter chances are pretty good that they will come away with a win and is exactly what Las Vegas pulled off. They had put a stop to their losing streak, and now had 6-7 season record.

Indiana’s Aliyah Boston had the game high with 26 points and 10 rebounds along with a great showing by Kelsey Mitchell with 20 and Clark finishing with 19 points and 11 assists.

The Aces really bounced back in this game finishing off the Fever in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. After a rough start, A’Ja Wilson finished with 24 points and seven rebounds. Jackie Young had 19 points and also had seven rebounds. Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd had a great finish; Gray with 18 points and Loyd with ten. Aaliyah Nye had 11 points off the bench.

Game notes: Sunday afternoon the Aces played another home game at Michelob ULTRA Arena taking on the Fever. The Aces came into the game after a loss to the Seattle Storm 90-83 after leading by ten points in the third quarter last Friday. That game was A’Ja Wilson’s first appearance on the court after being out on concussion protocol.

Wilson came back into this game sharp after her first game back last Friday night. Las Vegas faced Caitlan Clark but also the Clark- Aliyah Boston combination a dangerous duo. The Arena was packed with over 18,500 fans on hand for the game with the Ace ending their three game losing streak.

Las Vegas will back on the court at Michelob ULTRA Arena welcoming the Connecticut Sun next Wednesday night. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM and fans can tune in for all the action on NBA TV.