The Las Vegas Aces extended their winning streak to five games with a commanding 88-69 victory over the Indiana Fever, in front of a record-breaking crowd of 20,366 fans at T-Mobile Arena. This attendance not only set a new franchise record, surpassing the previous one by nearly 3,000 people, but also marked the largest WNBA crowd since 1999 and the fifth-largest in the league’s history.
The game drew a diverse crowd, including not just Aces fans but also supporters of the Fever and Iowa fans eager to see former Hawkeyes Kate Martin, Megan Gustafson, and Caitlin Clark in action. Kelsey Plum, who led the Aces with 34 points, acknowledged the trio’s role in attracting such a large audience. “We had a ton of fans, but there’s a lot of our fans that love Kate Martin and Megan Gustafson, too, so that has to get said,” Plum remarked. “We have tremendous fans and it was an amazing environment. I’m just grateful that we got to win.”
The attendance was just 308 fans shy of the WNBA record set in 1999 between the Washington Mystics and the Cleveland Rockers. It was also the first WNBA game to surpass 19,500 fans outside of Washington’s Verizon Center/Capital One Arena or New York’s Madison Square Garden, which have hosted 14 of the top 15 most-attended WNBA games.
Aces coach Becky Hammon expressed her excitement about the historic crowd, noting that there were moments when it felt like the building was going to explode. “It is nice to see these women get recognized for how great they are, how hard they work, and valued the way they should have been valued the whole time in my opinion,” Hammon said. She also credited Caitlin Clark for bringing significant attention to the WNBA. When the Aces released their schedule and Clark declared for the WNBA Draft, Hammon was quick to agree to move the game to T-Mobile Arena. “I asked ‘can we make money off of it?’ They (Aces front office) said ‘yes’ and I said ‘so move it.’ It was an easy question,” Hammon explained.
Plum’s performance was stellar, shooting 55% (11-of-20) from the field. A’ja Wilson, recently named the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month, added 28 points and nine rebounds. Wilson is averaging a league-leading 26.9 points and a league-second-best 11.1 rebounds. Plum praised Wilson’s consistency, saying, “It’s crazy that you’re [Wilson] usually averaging 28 a game like this is a normal day in office. That’s absurd. You realize that, right? Everyone’s like doubling and tripling, and it really doesn’t matter. We need to put that in perspective. It’s just another night at the office, and we take it for granted, but we’re watching one of the greatest players of all time in front of our eyes.”
The Aces’ offense was in top form, shooting 45% (32-of-71) from the field and 36% (9-of-25) from 3-point range. They managed to keep the Fever and rookie sensation Caitlin Clark in check. Clark finished with 13 points, shooting 4-of-12 from the field and committing five personal fouls. The Fever, as a team, shot 36% (28-of-77) from the field. Aces forward Kiah Stokes had an impressive defensive showing, recording a team-high 12 rebounds. “That’s Kiah (Stokes) and who she is,” Wilson said. “This is why we love her so much. She does the dirty stuff that doesn’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. When you’re talking about 12 rebounds, that’s incredible. That’s why she’ll forever be the anchor of this defense.”
The Aces improved to 11-6 on the year and have two of their next three games at home. They will face the Washington Mystics on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Michelob Ultra Arena, with the game broadcast on Amazon Prime Video.
Indiana’s All-Star contingent of Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Caitlin Clark combined for 54 points, accounting for 78.2% of the team’s scoring. All three were named to the WNBA All-Star team that will play the U.S. Olympic team in Phoenix on July 20. Plum, Wilson, Young, and Chelsea Gray are all on Team USA.
Mitchell led the Fever with 23 points, while Clark finished with 13 points and 11 assists. Boston had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and NaLyssa Smith grabbed 14 boards for Indiana. “I think we missed quite a few shots that we usually make,” Clark said. “It’s tough to beat a team like this not being able to score the ball at the rate they did. There were moments where we played really good basketball, our third quarter was really great and we come out in the fourth and we didn’t start well at all and the game was kind of over from there.”
The Fever did their best to replicate their comeback on Sunday, when they rallied from 15 down to beat Phoenix. After falling behind by as much as 11 early in the third quarter, the Fever rode the hot hand of Clark to draw closer. However, the Aces opened the fourth on a 14-0 run, making it too late for the Fever to mount a comeback.
Las Vegas used a 15-8 run to open the second quarter, bolstered by 10 points from Wilson, to open a 41-32 lead. Clark scored her first bucket of the game, getting the Fever within seven. The Aces carried a 46-37 lead into the locker room at halftime. Clark struggled from the field in the first 20 minutes, making just 1 of 7 from the floor, including going 0 for 4 from 3-point range.
The Fever will host New York on Saturday, while the Aces will host Washington on Thursday.
Source: Steve Marcus, CNN, Michael Voepel, ESPN.com, AP
