Indiana Fever at Las Vegas Aces (Game 1)
Sunday, September 21
Michelob Ultra Arena | 3:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast Information
TV: ABC
Radio: 93.1 WIBC – John Nolan (play-by-play), Bria Goss (analyst)

Probable Starters

Indiana Fever

Guard – Odyssey Sims
Guard – Kelsey Mitchell
Forward – Lexie Hull
Forward – Natasha Howard
Center – Aliyah Boston

Las Vegas Aces

Guard – Chelsea Gray
Guard – Jackie Young
Forward – Kierstan Bell
Forward – NaLyssa Smith
Center – A’ja Wilson

GAME PREVIEW:

After knocking off the third-seeded Atlanta Dream in the first round of the playoffs, the Indiana Fever will tip off the WNBA Semifinals against the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces on Sunday afternoon.

The Fever won the final two games against the Dream to advance to the next round, including a dramatic 87-85 victory on the road in Atlanta on Thursday where they rallied from a five-point deficit in the final 2:05 to win the series.

As expected, All-Stars Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston were huge for the Fever in the first round. Mitchell averaged 23.3 points per game over the series, including a game-high 24 points in Game 3. Boston averaged 12.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists and scored the game-winning basket in Game 3, where she stuffed the stat line with 14 points, 12 boards, and six assists.

Mitchell was named one of five finalists for the 2025 WNBA MVP award on Friday, as was Aces center A’ja Wilson. Wilson has made a strong case for her fourth MVP award of her career, averaging 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game in the regular season. She averaged 29.3 points in Vegas’ first round series with Seattle, including 38 points in a 74-73 victory in Game 3.

On paper, the Aces will be heavy favorites in this series. This is Las Vegas’ seventh straight year reaching at least the semifinals, including back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. The Aces won their final 16 games to close the regular season, but were tested in the first round of the playoffs by the Storm, who won Game 2 in Seattle and took the Aces to the final possession in Game 3.

But the Fever have shown to be remarkably consistent all season long, first making the playoffs and then advancing despite having five players out with season-ending injuries. If there’s any lesson to be learned this season, it’s that you can never count the Fever out.