Stephanie White and her short-handed Indiana Fever saw their dream run come to an end on Tuesday night. Despite missing Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and several others, Indiana was one game away from the WNBA Finals.
But on Tuesday night, the Las Vegas Aces were too tough for them, and for the third time in four seasons, the Aces are back in the title round.
How it happened
The Aces and Fever were tied at 23 each after one. At halftime, Las Vegas held a slim 47-45 lead. After three, the lead for the Aces moved to 71-63. The fourth quarter tightened up, as Indiana got to within 84-82 with 1:50 left in the game. After a Vegas miss, Indiana got the ball back with a chance to tie, and Odyessy Sims got to the free-throw line with 0:52.00 remaining.
She nailed them both, and the game was tied. Vegas struggled to get their possession going with incredible defense by Indiana. Becky Hammon was forced to call a timeout with 5 seconds left on the shot clock and 32.2 seconds in the game.
Jackie Young drove to the rim and could not finish, and on the rebound, Aliyah Boston was whistled for a foul. That was instantly challenged by White and the Indiana staff. After the review, the foul remained, and it was Boston's final foul of the game. Young nailed both free throws.
After White used her reset to get the ball in the front court, the Fever got the ball back to Odyssey Sims, who immediately went to the rim and scored, tying the game at 86. The final possession ended with a Jackie Young miss in the late, followed by a tip-in miss. The 5:00 overtime to decide the final team for the WNBA finals arrived.
This would be the second winner-take-all game to overtime. The 2004 finals were the last ones. In overtime, the first minute went by with no points. A Jewell Lloyd three got the scoring started. Lexie Hull banked in a jump shot to cut it to a one-point game. The next possession for Vegas was a Chelsea Gray three-pointer. After a pair of Odyessy Sims free throws, the game was back down to 2.
Gray hit another three-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the Aces up 5. But the Fever were not done. Natasha Howard scored a bucket in the lane and got fouled. After making the free-throw, the game was back to 2 with just over 2:00 to go.
Lloyd hit two free throws with 1:53 to go to put the Aces up four points. Indiana could not connect, and Vegas was feeling it. After running the shot clock down, Vegas missed a shot, but Indiana was unable to clean up the rebounds. A nifty in-bounds saw it go into Wilson, who dished it back to Gray to put the Aces up six with 1:09 to go. Gray and Lloyd had scored all 13 of the Aces' points in overtime to this point.
After a timeout, Indiana got a quick Sims bucket. This time, it was Dana Evans with a bucket. But, Indiana was still not dead yet. Shey Peddy nailed a three to cut it to a single-possession game.
After a timeout, Jackie Young was fouled and nailed both free throws. After an Indiana miss, Wilson got the rebound and was fouled. She hit both, and the Aces led by 7 with 0:12 to go in the game.
White called a timeout and needed a miracle. A missed shot, and that pretty much did it for the Aces. Indiana fouled with 0:05 remaining, and that certainly mattered for some, as Young made both to move the game from 7 to 9. Vegas went on to win the game 107-98.
Wilson led the game, playing 40 minutes, scoring 35 points, and recording 7 rebounds. Young also scored 30 for the Aces. Sims led Indiana with 27 points, while Howard added 16.
Bad injury for star
Kelsey Mitchell was ruled out of the game in the third quarter with an injury. She finished the game after 23 minutes, scoring 15 points, along with two rebounds and two assists.
Obviously, there will be a new WNBA champion, as the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx were both eliminated.
MORE: Phoenix Mercury advance to WNBA Finals
When the finals start, of course, the Aces will be seeking their third title in four seasons. It will be an all-West Coast final as they will take on the Phoenix Mercury, who have not won the title since 2014. That was the season Diana Taurasi dominated the Chicago Sky and swept the series.
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