Just over two months ago, the Las Vegas Aces held onto the eighth seed as the team’s chances of chasing a championship appeared to be dwindling by the game. From Aug. 2 to Oct. 3, Las Vegas rides one of the most storied runs in sports history, winning 20 of its last 23 games. The most crucial victory to date came in the 89-86 thriller over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
GAME WON ✔️
Presented by Richard Harris Law Firm
— Las Vegas Aces (@lvaces.bsky.social) October 4, 2025 at 4:19 AM
After facing a nine-point deficit halfway through the third quarter, the Aces ignited a 10-5 run to close the frame down four entering the fourth.
The sequence that sealed Phoenix’s fate was a foul by Aces wing Jackie Young on Mercury All-Star Alyssa Thomas. Aces head coach Becky Hammon challenged the call, which ultimately proved to be unsuccessful. After converting on a layup to cut her team’s deficit to one, Thomas missed both free-throw attempts. Young nailed two free throws on the other end to extend Las Vegas’ lead to three with 13.5 seconds left in the game.
Mercury star Satou Sabally took the final shot for Phoenix on a pull-up three-pointer, but missed it with 2.4 seconds left on the clock. Jackie Young corralled the rebound and dribbled it out to cement the win.
“We ran a play to get Kahleah (Copper) a look,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said of the final possession. “They did a good job of switching out. We had one more option … I probably should have ran out and called a TO with six seconds to go.”
2025 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Chelsea Gray added eight points, seven rebounds and 10 assists.
There were a plethora of key performances and pressure points that gave way to an Aces victory. Here are the top three and what needs to change for Phoenix to even the series on Sunday.
DANA EVANS IS NOT PLAYING FAIR 😱
This NASTY three by Dana brings her scoring tally to 21 PTS & counting!
PHX-LVA | ESPN | WNBA Finals | @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/tIe0sSZVMA
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 4, 2025
From the first whistle until the very last one sounded in the arena, WNBA champion guards Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans did exactly as their track records show: make a positive impact. The two reserve options did more than just that, as they became the third duo in WNBA Finals history to score at least 18 points each and the first in over a decade. Evans finished with 21 points in only 26 minutes of action and rained in five three-pointers in the process. Her first step is one of the swiftest in the league, allowing her to penetrate the paint for a finish in the lane or find a cutting teammate. Evans comes off the bench and injects life into Las Vegas’ approach on both sides of the ball. Her ability at 5’6 to step up and comfortably guard a player significantly bigger and stronger than her.
“I got some early steals. I got to the basket. I saw the ball going in and I just kept being aggressive,” said Evans, who added four steals and three helpers.
Not many teams can say they have a two-time WNBA champion coming off the bench, but the Aces can with Jewell Loyd. This postseason has not been one for Loyd to hang her hat on, averaging 5.4 points in the semifinals against the Indiana Fever, shooting a paltry 26.9 percent from the field. The script was rewritten in Game 1, where Loyd exploded on the scene for 18 points on 50 percent shooting. “Jewell (Loyd) came out in the first half and gave us a really good punch,” Hammon said.
In a decisive Game 5 of the semifinals, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young combined for 67 points to ensure Las Vegas’ fourth Finals appearance in the last eight seasons. Considering this was barely three days ago at the time, it was clear that the dynamic duo was still in the process of recovering.
“I think you saw a little bit of fatigue from Jackie (Young) and A’ja (Wilson),” Hammon said. She went on to explain that the original game plan was to get Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young
Satou Sabally receives her fifth foul, along with a tech.
DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas show their disappointment. pic.twitter.com/dQEzDPsARY
— say, zavanté-ayyy.⋆⭒˚.⋆ (@zavanchy) October 4, 2025
In the first half of Game 1, Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas, and Satou Sabally combined for 38 of the team’s 50 points before heading to the locker room. Despite only being outscored by one (22-21) in the third quarter, Thomas went scoreless in the quarter, while Copper went 1-for-3 for 2 points. Sabally was the only productive member of the trio, contributing nine points, which is over 42% of the team’s scoring output in the quarter.
Phoenix’s stars continued to struggle with the game on the line, going a combined 3-for-7 in the final frame, where they were outscored 22-15. Sabally and Thomas had eight of the team’s 15 points. Copper went scoreless and played the entire quarter. She scored 21 points in total, but 19 came in the first half.
The team as a unit shot 6-for-18 from the field in the fourth quarter, including 2-for-12 from beyond the arc. Late leads disappearing never phased the Mercury, as they have built a strong postseason stretch with several comeback wins. Unfortunately, on Friday night at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, this was not the case.
Mercury head coch Nate Tibbetts has not been shy this season when asked about his rotations or the utilzation of his bench in top matchups. However, if Phoenix wants to avoid going down 0-2 before stepping foot back in Arizona, bench pieces like Kitjia Laksa, Kalani Brown, and Lexi Held have to see the floor. Even if it is in spurts, different personnel allows for different looks that an opponent may not have scouted for.
For example, DeWanna Bonner and Sami Whitcomb are the two main reserves who see time with some sort of consistency. In Game 1, they combined for 21 points on 6-of-21 shooting. The Aces have played the Mercury four times and yet for most of the second half, it was not as visible on Phoenix’s side. One of Las Vegas’ strengths is being to go big and versatile simultaneously. For most of the season, the Mercury embraced the ability to do so, but rejected it against several teams like the Atlanta Dream. Chicago Sky and a few others. The unlucky part for Phoenix is that these are the Las Vegas Aces.
“Our bench has been really good too in these playoffs. Their bench outplayed ours tonight, but our bench has won us a lot of games in these playoffs,” Tibbetts said postgame.
—
Born and raised in Chicago, Christan Braswell is a women’s sports journalist with a focus on the WNBA and women’s college basketball. He’s an avid fan of elevator screens and stuffed-crust pizza. Outside of sports, he’s an avid cook and lover of the great outdoors.
Well dear readers, it’s been a busy week in the league, both on and off the pitch. My apologies for the delay, but a little birdie told me about some […]
