3 takeaways: Aces beat Fever before historic Las Vegas crowd — PHOTOS
Hours before the Aces’ second meeting with Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, there was an excited energy in the air at T-Mobile Arena.
From the lengthy line of fans at the entrance to the countless Iowa- and Aces-centric signs in the building, the stage was set for something spectacular.
“We’re on basketball history watch,” an Aces staffer said while the teams began to warm up.
The back-to-back defending champions beat the Fever 88-69 on Tuesday for their fifth consecutive win. The Aces (11-6) were powered by a season-high 34 points from Kelsey Plum. A’ja Wilson had 28 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, while Jackie Young had 15 points and 10 assists.
During the fourth quarter, the Aces announced that the attendance broke a team record with a sellout crowd of 20,366 fans and was the largest crowd for a regular-season WNBA game since 1999.
The Aces’ previous franchise-high was 17,406 at T-Mobile, a mark the team reached during its final regular-season game against the Phoenix Mercury in 2023.
After the game, coach Becky Hammon asserted that large crowds are nothing new for the Aces, as the team has already sold out all 20 of its homes games this season.
“Vegas has been showing up over the past two or three years, so I’m not surprised. We were close to filling up this building last year,” Hammon said. “But it was just pretty loud in there (tonight). I’ve always said, the more the merrier — whoever you’re coming to watch.”
Kelsey Mitchell scored 23 points for Indiana (8-13), and Aliyah Boston had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Clark, the team’s star rookie from Iowa, was swallowed by a crowd of photographers as she attempted to sign autographs before the game. She recorded 13 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in the loss.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
1. Back in form
Although the Aces secured a double-digit win over the Washington Mystics in their last outing Saturday, they weren’t happy with their performance.
The Mystics’ game plan successfully limited Wilson and Plum, ending Wilson’s WNBA-record streak of 20 consecutive games with more than 20 points. Wilson didn’t score at all in the first half of that game.
By the end of the second quarter Tuesday, she had 18 points.
“We used this game to get back to the flow of us, “Wilson said.
She added that the team was “in a funk” without Chelsea Gray. After losing six games while Gray was out due to a lower left leg injury, the team is 5-0 since the point guard’s return.
Hammon said the Aces have worked on communication and trust, which has paid dividends on defense during the win streak. The team is so strong in that area now that Wilson was able to joke about teammate Kiah Stokes’ production in the paint. Stokes matched her season-high with 12 rebounds, making it difficult for Wilson to snatch a board for herself.
“She stole my rebound,” Wilson joked. “She’s a thief.”
Plum said before the team’s current run, there was some outside noise from fans and media.
“There were a lot of people waiting to jump off the ship just because we didn’t win a couple games,” she said.
2. Plum’s MVP vote
Plum could have utilized her postgame media availability to focus on her phenomenal performance. She was a +19 in the box score over 37 minutes, going 6-for-11 from behind the 3-point line. The performance saw her surpass a milestone of 3,000 career points.
But as Plum sat with Wilson in front of reporters Tuesday night, she didn’t talk much about herself. Instead, she focused the attention on her teammate.
“You know she really averages 28 a game, ” Plum said of Wilson. “Everyone’s doubling and tripling and game-planning, and it really doesn’t matter. … We take it for granted, but we’re watching one of the greatest players of all time in front of our eyes.”
Plum added that MVP voting should be unanimous in Wilson’s favor this year. Wilson, the 2023 WNBA Finals MVP finished third in the MVP race last season.
3. All-Star power
The WNBA announced its All-Star rosters an hour before the Aces and Fever took the court.
When all was said and done, seven All-Stars were on the floor Tuesday.
Indiana’s Clark (700,735 votes) and Boston (618,680) finished first and second in fan voting, respectively, and Mitchell was selected by league coaches.
Wilson was third in the voting with 607,300, and she is one of four Aces — along with Gray, Plum and Young — who have automatic bids to the All-Star Game as members of the U.S. team for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Wilson joked Tuesday that she’d rather rest during the All-Star break so she can prepare for her second Olympics.
Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
