LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 03: Dana Evans #11 of the Las Vegas Aces reacts after her three point basket against the Phoenix Mercury in the second quarter of Game One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs finals at Michelob ULTRA Arena on October 03, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
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In a gritty game one which saw the score stay tight the entire four quarters, the Las Vegas Aces pulled out the win, 89-86 and moved to 1-0 in the seven game series.
Winning game one is crucial in the finals as the team that wins the start of the WNBA Finals has historically gone on to win the championship. In 20 out of the last 28 Finals the team game one winner has taken the title, the most recent notable exceptions: 2024 Minnesota Lynx and 2017 Los Angeles Sparks.
Aces Led by Well Rounded Offense and Spark off the Bench
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 03: A’ja Wilson #22 of the Las Vegas Aces celebrates after making a basket against the Phoenix Mercury in the fourth quarter of Game One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs finals at Michelob ULTRA Arena on October 03, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
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The four time MVP A’ja Wilson contributed 21 points, 1o rebounds, and five assists in the win. Guards Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray both battled potential injuries in the game and had to be tended to by the medial staff which perhaps resulted in quieter nights with 10 and eight points respectively.
For the Aces Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd were the x factors off the bench. In the fourth quarter with just over three minutes remaining, Evans made her fifth three pointer and finished the game with 21 points. Additionally, Loyd contributed 18 points, 8-for-15 from the field and 2-for-6 from beyond the arc.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 03: Kahleah Copper #2 of the Phoenix Mercury celebrates after her three point basket against the Las Vegas Aces in the second quarter of Game One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs finals at Michelob ULTRA Arena on October 03, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
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The Aces held guard Kahleah Copper to two points in the second half after she led the charge for the Mercury in the first half of the game with 19 points. Phoenix would depend on the engine of veteran forward Alyssa Thomas who had 15 points, 10 in the first half, and five points in the second half, all coming in the fourth quarter when her team desperately needed offense. However, with less than 30 seconds left in the game, Thomas had two free throws to put the Mercury ahead of the Aces, but missed both.
Young would come down the court after Thomas’ misses and sink her two free throws to go up 89- 86 with 13.5 seconds left. In the final play of the game, Phoenix attempted to get a three from Satou Sabally up to tie the game, but the defensive presence of the Aces forced an errant shot and game one win for the home team.
Post Game One Reflections
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 03: Head coach Nate Tibbetts of the Phoenix Mercury looks on in the first quarter of Game One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs finals against the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena on October 03, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
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In the post game press conference Phoenix Mercury head coach recognized that the adjustments that the Las Vegas Aces made in the second half were effective in changing the trajectory of the game. He said, “They went zone and they kind of made us stand a little bit. I thought we had some good looks, but give them credit for mixing up their defense. I thought it was a good adjustment but we didn’t handle it well and that was part of the reason that Kah [Kahleah Copper] didn’t get as many shots in the second half because they went zone.”
Tibbetts did acknowledge that although it didn’t go the Mercury’s way in the fourth quarter that he felt this was going to be a great series, “This is going to be a great series, right. It is going to come down to the last possessions of the games. They [his team] have been through it together and we have handled these situations very well.”
In the message to the team, Tibbetts said, “We haven’t been best of seven but we have been down after the first game, right. It’s the first of four and you always want to try to get one early and we put ourselves in a position. These are two of the best teams, that’s why we are the last two standing. We talked about it earlier, we have made some of these plays down the stretch, we didn’t make them tonight, but we will be ready for Sunday.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 03: Head coach Becky Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces reacts in the first quarter of Game One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs finals against the Phoenix Mercury at Michelob ULTRA Arena on October 03, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
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When Aces head coach Becky Hammon came to the mic she asserted that the switch to zone defense allowed them to slow down and switch Phoenix’s first half moment and she also attributed the win tonight to the play off the bench from veterans Loyd and guard Evans, “We got options. Jewell, we know what Jewell has been, she has been in this league a long time, but Dana, she is a little scorer, she is a problem.”
Hammon continued later that “I told both Jackie and Chels to get those two going early. I thought Jewell came out in the first half and gave us a really good punch and then Dana really took fire in the second half. We have weapons. We want to use them all because we are harder to guard that way.”
The Aces and Mercury will only get one day of rest before facing off again on Sunday, October 5 at 3 pm EST on ABC.
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