LAS VEGAS — Olympians and All-Stars headline the Las Vegas Aces’ roster, but the team turned to the bench for a hero in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
Reserve guard Dana Evans tallied 21 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, leading Las Vegas on a furious rally en route to a come-from-behind 89-86 victory against the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.
Evans finished 8-for-13 from the field overall and 5-for-6 from 3-point range. She became the first player in WNBA history to record five treys and four steals in a Finals game.
“She’s a pro,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Evans. “She’s consistent, she stays ready. She does the work, whether she’s going to play 25 minutes or 15 minutes, she just stays locked in. … You feel her when she comes into the game, and you feel her on both ends.”
While A’ja Wilson is consistently lauded as the Aces’ dominant presence, the four-time MVP made it clear that Evans is playing a crucial role in her first year with the organization.
“I’ve said often that Dana’s our battery,” Wilson said. “She makes us play at a different pace. I told her that we go when she goes, and that’s a quick pace. We’re going to always try to follow her. We know she’s very hard to stop in this league, very hard to keep in front of, and so when she’s able to get downhill and get good looks, it plays in our favor.”
Wilson also finished with 21 points, shooting 7-for-16 from the field in addition to grabbing 10 rebounds.
While the Aces did lots right in their fourth-quarter comeback, they were helped by some Mercury missteps.
Las Vegas was up 87-86 with 24.6 seconds remaining when Alyssa Thomas missed a pair of free throws that could have given Phoenix the lead. After the Aces’ Jackie Young sank two free throws, Las Vegas closed the game with a defensive stop on the final possession.
Momentum shifted early in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas trailed 76-70 with 8:23 remaining when Phoenix’s Satou Sabally was assessed a technical foul for spiking the ball after being whistled for her fifth foul of the night. That incident kick-started a 17-6 Aces run.
“We have to play better defense,” Sabally said. “Just going back to what we do best, and then I think the results will show that we are the better team. I’m really not too down on myself.”
Evans sank a 3-pointer that put the home team ahead for good, 85-82 with 3:37 remaining. Wilson capped the run with a 10-footer with 2:41 left, giving the Aces a five-point edge.
While Evans led the charge off the Las Vegas bench in the second half, Jewell Loyd did so in the first. Loyd finished with 18 points, 13 of which came before halftime, helping keep the Aces within five points at halftime despite a slow start from their usual scoring core.
Phoenix’s Kahleah Copper had a game-high 19 points in the first half and made five 3-pointers, tying former Mercury point guard Diana Taurasi’s WNBA Finals record for most 3-pointers in a half.
However, after the Aces made the timely decision to switch their defense, Copper was held to two points in the second half.
“They went from man to zone, and then we rushed some shots, didn’t really execute,” Copper said. “… We should have slowed down a little bit.”
Sabally ended the night with 19 points, while Thomas compiled 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Sunday in Las Vegas.
“We’ll go back, we’ll practice tomorrow, we’ll walk through our mistakes and find better solutions for some things, and then we’ll just come back on Sunday,” Sabally said.
The Mercury stretched their lead to a game-high nine points in the third, but the Aces managed to claw within 71-67 by the end of the quarter.
The Aces tied the game at 57 all with a trio of Gray free throws after a flagrant-1 violation was called due to Copper encroaching in Gray’s landing area on a 3-point attempt. Gray was injured on the play and went to the locker room. Immediately after, DeWanna Bonner and Monique Akoa Makani hit triples to regain a 63-57 lead with 4:30 remaining in the third.
After a streaky start for each side, Phoenix and Las Vegas began the second quarter with a mutually torrid shooting display. Vegas began the quarter 8-for-11 from the field but still found themselves trailing, because Phoenix began the frame 10-for-11 from the field itself and had an answer at every turn.
Copper led the scoring outburst for the Mercury, scoring 12 points in the second quarter while making all four attempts from behind the arc.
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
