Las Vegas Aces Headed To Finals After Defeating Indiana Fever In Game 5 Of Semifinals

Walking into the do-or-die game Tuesday night wasn't for the weak or anxiety-ridden. But Aces fans left happy, excited, and proud.

Game 5 of the Semifinals between the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever brought high-energy into Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. It was a tough series with the Fever winning Game 1 and 4 and the Aces winning Game 2 and 3. This winner takes all Game 5 had many fans worried that the WNBA season could end for them and had others confident they were going to see their team in the Finals later this week.

And then overtime happened. But the Aces pulled it off, winning 107-98, and are headed to the Finals beginning on Friday.

It was a nail-biter from the very beginning. The Semifinals between the Aces and the Fever were anything but boring or predictable.

The Game 5 victory came for the Aces after a very tense overtime. Fans really brought the energy and the positive attitude to Michelob ULTRA Arena Tuesday night.

A'ja Wilsonscored 35 points, and Jackie Young added 32 points. Chelsea Gray scored 17 points, despite going to the locker room after an injury in the third quarter but did return to the game shortly after.

The Aces are now headed to the Finals for the third time in just four years and will be facing the Phoenix Mercury. For the first time in WNBA history, the Finals will be a best-of-7 format. With homecourt advantage, Games 1 and 2 will be played in Vegas, before heading to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4. Game 5, if necessary, will be back in Vegas, Game 6 in Phoenix, and Game 7 in Vegas.

After the win, the team huddled together on the court to celebrate their victory and talk to the media. Wilson gave a quick speech to the full crowd of people before heading to the postgame press conference.

The team shared a video on Instagram and fans filled the comment section with excitement and congratulatory messages.

"That’s our MVP!!! Yes A’ja, let em know," one person wrote. Another said, "The Best in the league for the past 6 years." Many others left fire and heart emojis.

Before taking any questions from the media, Wilson wanted to ask for prayers for Fever player Kelsey Mitchell, after she got injured during the game. She also wanted to share her thoughts on what fellow WNBA player, Napheesa Collier, had to say earlier in the day about the league, and specifically, commissioner Cathy Englebert.

"First off, just prayers for Kelsey Mitchell. That's my draft partner. To see her go down like that, it's not good, so prayers out to her. She just had a phenomenal season and I really hope that the Indiana Fever continue to take care of her cause she's a gem. We don't talk everyday single day, of course, but she's just a phenomenal person and I hate seeing her going down," she said.

"And also, I had an opportunity to listen to Phee [Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx] and I just wanna say I was honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made but at the same time, I'm very appreciative that we have people like Phee in our committee of our players' association representing us because that's what we're gonna have to continue to push to stand on what we believe in and I'm grateful to have those type of people being able to continue to speak up for us. And I'm gonna ride with Phee, always, because she knows. Obviously, she's a business girlie, and she has her own stuff going on, but moving forward, we gotta continue to stand on business as we talk about this CBA negotiation."

Wilson has fans of all ages and is a role model to many. Henderson resident Alycia Norberte recently shared a video on TikTok showing her daughter's love for Wilson.

In an exclusive interview with The Blast, Alycia said she's been an Aces fan "since they came to Las Vegas in 2018" and the family started to go to games with Dakota, now 8. The family also watches Aces games from home. Dakota recently started playing basketball.

"She [Dakota] studies A'ja Wilson's play style," Alycia said. "She just started playing basketball this year and she says that she is training to be the next A'ja Wilson. Everything is A'ja Wilson on game day."

Alycia said that while she hasn't had the chance to meet Wilson yet, they are hoping that day isn't too far away.

In the video shared on TikTok, Dakota was trying to get Wilson's attention after a game, but unfortunately it didn't happen. Alycia wanted to explain her reasoning for the video, because at it seems, some thought she was showing Wilson in a "bad light," but that's not the case at all.

"Some people have left comments stating that I made it seem like she ignored her. That wasn’t what happened at all. We made our way to the gate where the players walked off the court and she was screaming and yelling for her. There were so many fans. I did let her know that she may not hear or see her," she explained. 

"But being an 8-year-old fan, she really didn’t grasp that information. A’ja did talk to some fans but left quickly after that and Dakota started crying because she was trying so hard to be seen by her. Especially because she was dressed in A’ja’s signature Nike attire. So I recorded the video to show how much A’ja is loved by fans, especially by my daughter.”

For true sports fans, a visit to the Hall of Excellence at Fontainebleau is a must! Aces fans will be happy to see some team memorabilia, including two championship rings, trophy, and Wilson's jersey.

There are also other basketball memorabilia to check out, including jerseys, photos, shoes, and more from Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and others.

Hall of Excellence is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is located on the second floor of Fontainebleau Las Vegas. For more information, visit their website.

Next up for the Aces - Game 1 of the Finals in Las Vegas on Friday, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. PT. Let's go, Aces!