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Kevin Pelton<\/p>\n
Close<\/p>\n
Kevin Pelton<\/p>\n
ESPN Senior Writer<\/span><\/p>\n Charlie Creme<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n Charlie Creme<\/p>\n ESPN.com<\/span><\/p>\n Sep 21, 2025, 05:49 PM ET<\/span><\/p>\n Sunday started with Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson becoming the first player in league history to win four MVP awards. But hours later, on the Aces’ home court, the No. 6 seed Indiana Fever stole Game 1 of their WNBA semifinal series, beating the 2-seeded Aces 89-73 at Michelob Ultra Arena.<\/p>\n Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell scored 34 points on 12-for-23 shooting in the win. She’s the first Fever player to score 30 points in a playoff game since 2012.<\/p>\n Wilson finished with 16 points, missing her first six shots from the field and finishing 6-of-22 from the floor. After winning 17 consecutive games, the Aces have now lost two of their past three (they lost Game 2 of their first-round series with Seattle).<\/p>\n Here’s how Indiana took a 1-0 lead in the series, which resumes Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Indiana was the quicker team and played with more urgency from the opening tip. The aggressive play of the Fever backcourt, primarily Mitchell and Odyssey Sims, set a tone for which the Aces didn’t appear ready. The confidence Indiana got from winning two in a row against the Atlanta Dream in the first round traveled to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n The Aces had no answer for Mitchell, regardless of who drew the defensive assignment. Her 34 points were a playoff career high and came on 12-of-23 shooting, producing one of the best playoff performances in Fever history. The Aces struggled staying in front of Mitchell early, which later opened plenty of shooting space. Mitchell made 4 of 6 3-point attempts. Sims presented nearly as many problems for Las Vegas with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting.<\/p>\n With Wilson struggling from the floor and the Las Vegas guards unable to defend effectively, the Aces didn’t have enough answers to overcome Mitchell, Indiana’s offensive efficiency and 50% shooting. — Creme<\/em><\/p>\n The Aces are going to have to tighten their defense. After ranking ninth in the WNBA in defensive rating during a 14-14 start, Las Vegas improved to rank second during its winning streak, allowing less than a point per possession. The Storm easily beat that mark to snap the streak in Game 2 of the first round, and the Fever’s 1.11 points per possession were the most the Aces have allowed since their 53-point loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 2.<\/p>\n In particular, Indiana carved up Las Vegas in the paint, scoring 50 points. The Aces only allowed more than that five times all season.<\/p>\n The other obvious adjustment for Las Vegas is to get Wilson going. As in the first round against Atlanta, Indiana did a strong job of taking away 3-point opportunities for the Aces, who attempted just 17. The trade-off is single coverage against Wilson in the post, yet the Fever held the MVP to 6-of-22 shooting, her most missed shots ever in a playoff game.<\/p>\n We saw the Storm have similar success defending Wilson 1-on-1 late in Game 2. She responded with 38 points on 14-of-26 shooting in the series clincher. — Pelton<\/em><\/p>\n History for Kelsey Mitchell today: She scored the most points by a WNBA player in their first career semifinal game.<\/p>\n via ESPN Research pic.twitter.com\/EWvv4XUpxJ<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Charlie Creme projects the women’s NCAA tournament bracket for ESPN.com.<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How did Indiana steal Game 1?<\/h2>\n
Editor’s Picks<\/h2>\n
How does Las Vegas respond in Tuesday’s Game 2?<\/h2>\n