Entering as as underdog in the series, No. 6 seed Indiana dominated No. 2 seed Las Vegas by a score of 89-73 on Sunday afternoon during a stunning Game 1 victory in the best-of-five WNBA semifinals series from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
Similar to its first-round series against No. 3 seed Atlanta, most sports outlets heavily favored the Aces due to Indiana’s five season-ending injuries, but also due to Las Vegas entering the opening game of the series by winning 17 of its last 18 contests and boasting one of the most dominant players in the league in A’ja Wilson.
However, that never stopped Indiana from rolling past Las Vegas in front of a sold-out Aces crowd to take a 1-0 series advantage.
Leading the way offensively was Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 34 points on 12-for-23 shooting from the field, 4-for-6 from 3-point territory, and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Following Mitchell in scoring was Odyssey Sims with 17 points and Natasha Howard with 12.
A key contributor to the Fever’s win was the team’s dominance in rebounding, as both Howard and Aliyah Boston secured 11 rebounds each to account for 22 of the team’s 35 total boards.
Additionally, the tactic of aggressively driving towards Wilson in an effort to drag the back-to-back WNBA MVP into picking up four fouls by the late portions of the third quarter paid dividends. The Fever limited the Aces’ go-to scorer to just 16 points.
With Game 1 secured, Indiana now grabs “home-court advantage” from Las Vegas as the Fever are now guaranteed two home games in front of a raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd.
Game 2 of the series will be on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Michelob ULTRA Arena with a start time of 8:30 p.m. CT.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Fever vs. Aces score: Indiana grabs 1-0 WNBA semifinals series lead
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
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