Stunning Game 3 finish carries Aces to WNBA semifinals — PHOTOS
The lights were off at Michelob Ultra Arena before anyone had time to process the gritty Aces’ win that had just unfolded.
Even A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young weren’t sure how to contextualize the stunning finish that allowed them to escape Thursday’s deciding game of best-of-three, first-round matchup against the Seattle Storm with a win and a ticket to the team’s seventh-straight WNBA semifinals against the Indiana Fever.
It was the last thing they’d spoken about before entering the media room to address reporters about the 74-73 nail-biter. It wasn’t perfect like Wilson said she knew the postseason demanded them to be. But they survived.
“We were just talking about how it just still feels like we’re on the court. I haven’t even got time to really digest anything,” Wilson said. “I think that just as I digest the game, I’m just really, really pleased at how we really just bought into each other.”
It came down to that in the final moments: confidence that the next person wearing an Aces uniform could make a winning play.
The second-seeded Aces should have won the game in the second quarter when they outscored the Storm 19-7. Instead, the reality of the Aces losing every other quarter brought the closing frame down to a prayer.
Wilson, who had taken over in the third quarter with 14 of the Aces’ 19 points in 10 minutes to help the team enter the fourth with a 52-48 lead, was the obvious choice to keeping playing through when Sklyar Diggins temporarily silenced the Aces’ crowd with a 3-pointer in the final two minutes.
And although Wilson finished with 38 points to tie her postseason career high, she missed a pull-up jumper from midrange with the Aces down by one point and only 13.5 seconds on the clock. Somehow, the 6-foot Young outrebounded the Storm’s giant defenders for a clutch putback bucket.
“Obviously, we’re going to ‘A’ at the end of the game, and we have a lot of faith in her and a lot of confidence. We think that every shot that she shoots is going in. But when it left (her hands), I saw that it was a little bit off to the right,” Young said before lambasting her total of 14 points and four assists. “I didn’t do much tonight, so just trying to make an impact in some way.”
From then, all the Aces had to do was defend last-second scoring attempts for Storm guards Erica Wheeler and Gabby Williams. Both shots fell short, and it was time to celebrate.
Aces coach Becky Hammon, however, didn’t debrief the win in a chipper tone.
This is what she expected from the Aces, and she’ll demand more when they face the Indiana Fever to open the best-of-five semifinals Sunday.
“Us closing doesn’t surprise me,” Hammon said. “(Game 2) in Seattle where we let that lead slip away, I’m not used to seeing that from this group.”
Hammon wasn’t too focused on expectations to praise the players that made the win possible.
“Jackie is a basketball player. She knows how to make plays. She knows how to move without the ball. She knows how to make things happen when it’s not necessarily for her,” Hammon said. “Now A’ja, her gears and her calm under pressure is next level, and I think that’s an elite skill set. She can deliver whenever she has to deliver.”
The Aces also benefited from a strong two-way performance by point guard Chelsea Gray that featured 12 points, eight assists, two steals and two blocks.
The Storm, which have now been eliminated by the Aces in the first round for two straight seasons, were led by veteran forward Nneka Ogwumike, who had 16 points and nine rebounds.
“This is a back-to-back championship team with one of the greatest players to ever play,” Ogwumike said following the loss.
She was alluding to the impact of Wilson, who was crowned the co-Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday for her third such award. She and Sheryl Swoopes are the only players in WNBA history to earn three MVP and DPOY honors in their careers.
Hammon expects Wilson and her entire team to enter the semifinals against the Fever at full tilt. They lost the regular-season series 3-2.
“I told them we can enjoy this win for tonight and tomorrow,” Hammon said of her postgame message to the Aces. “We’ve got to get back to business and we’ve got to be better.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
