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Top 10 Plays of the Week

Semis Top Plays

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Top Plays of the Day, 9/28/25

Semis Game Recap

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Game Recap: Aces vs. Fever (9/28/25)

AP Recap

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jackie Young scored 25 points in her home state, NaLyssa Smith added 16 points against her former team and the Las Vegas Aces beat the short-handed Indiana Fever 84-72 on Friday night in Game 3 of a best-of-five WNBA semifinal series.
The Aces lead 2-1 and would reach their third WNBA Finals in four years with a win Sunday in Indianapolis.
“We just have to get the job done Sunday,” said Young, who played on Las Vegas’ championship teams in 2022 and 2023 and finished her prep career as the Indiana girls’ basketball career scoring leader with 3,268 points. “The job’s not finished yet. Second round, right?”
To achieve its biggest goal, Las Vegas will need A’ja Wilson to shoot better than she did Friday. Wilson opened the game with a 3-pointer, then missed her next 11 shots. <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://x.com/i/status/1971752113048027167" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">The four-time MVP</a> finished with 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting and had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Chelsea Gray had 15 points and six assists.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 21 points and Lexie Hull finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Aliyah Boston had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Fever, who held a 16-4 edge in offensive rebounds.
The Fever got through the first round of the playoffs and beat Las Vegas in Game 1 despite having lost Caitlin Clark, Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald and Sophie Cunningham to season-ending injuries during the regular season.
Indiana wore down late on Friday, going nearly nine minutes between baskets, a stretch that began late in the third quarter. The Aces took full advantage by scoring eight straight to extend a four-point lead to 71-59 midway through the fourth.
“I thought we got a lot of good shots. Didn’t make a lot of them, you know,” Fever coach Stephanie White said. “We missed some opportunities at the free-throw line and then got a little stagnant. They were still in a good spot, though, because we were still getting stops until about the middle of the fourth quarter.”
Las Vegas controlled most of the first half, scoring the first six points of the second quarter to take a 26-16 lead.
But another boisterous home crowd — and Wilson closing the half with 10 straight misses — buoyed the Fever. Three straight 3-pointers helped Indiana charge back within 35-34 at halftime.
The Fever took their first lead on Boston’s layup to open the second half and led most of the third until the Aces clamped down on defense and pulled away.
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“We know how important defense is for us, that’s something that we’ve been really dialed into, something we’ve been focused on,” said Smith, who was traded from Indiana to Dallas during the offseason before landing in Las Vegas. “Defense is like our core focus. When our defense is on, our offense is 10 times better.”

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Game Recap: Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever (Semi-Finals, Game 3)

Top Plays

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Top Plays of the Day, 9/26/25

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Top Plays of the Day, 09/26/2025

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Game Recap: Aces vs. Fever (9/26/25)

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NaLyssa Smith with 16 Points vs. Indiana Fever

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Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces - Game Highlights

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson bounced back from a rare off game with 25 points and nine rebounds, and the Las Vegas Aces evened their WNBA semifinals playoff series with a convincing 90-68 Game 2 victory over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.
The best-of-five series heads to Indianapolis, where Game 3 will be played Friday night.
Wilson made 10 of 18 shots to go with playoff career-high five steals, two nights after the <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wnba-mvp-wilson-aces-9dbf1eb3125c59797f4fd57737684b01" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">four-time MVP</a> made just 6 of 22 field goals. NaLyssa Smith added 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Jackie Young scored 13, and Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans each had 10 points. Chelsea Gray finished with 10 assists.
Odyssey Sims led the Fever with 18 points and Lexie Hull, who was questionable with a back injury and wore a brace while on the bench, scored 15. Kelsey Mitchell had 13 points and Aliyah Boston 10.
Mitchell scored 34 points in Game 1 as the Fever rolled <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-fever-las-vegas-aces-aja-wilson-17faa1779c3bebbf1c701cf8fc890396" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">to an 89-73 victory</a>, but she was held to 4-of-14 shooting on Tuesday.
The second-seeded Aces <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wnba-playoffs-fever-aces-wilson-clark-c4d0312e83d13a8f98c9e7de06dd163b" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">came into the playoffs</a> on a 16-game winning streak, but barely got by Seattle in the opening round and then were blown out at home to open this series. This game, in which the Aces led by as many as 26 points, more closely resembled the <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/aces-lynx-wnba-playoffs-19860936d5c33ee4cef60365ceb1ad05" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">WNBA’s hottest team</a> at the end of the regular season.
But the <a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-fever-playoffs-aces-wnba-52f2b57247f2d9affcd8a5503becdd41" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA">short-handed Fever</a> have proven to be a tough out. Sixth-seeded Indiana upset No. 3 Atlanta in the quarterfinals, and now head home with the chance to close out this series. That despite entering Game 2 with six players out with injuries, including superstar Caitlin Clark, and another in Hull at clearly less than full health.

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Game Recap: Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces (Semi-Finals, Game 2)

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NaLyssa Smith

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2024 – Averaged 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds on the season … finished No. 14 in the league for rebounds per game in 2024 … started in 37 of 40 games played … shot a career-best 48% from the floor … put up a season-high of 23 points against Seattle on 5/30 … grabbed a season-high of 15 rebounds against Phoenix on 6/30 …  reached 1,000 career points on 5/30, reaching the milestone in 72 regular season games, the 4th fastest in Fever history … part of first trio in WNBA history to put up 15+ points, 7+ rebounds and 2+ blocks in a single game.  
2023 – Indiana Fever – Smith increased averages in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounds (9.2), field goal percentage (47.7%) and free throw percentage (67.7%) during her sophomore season … finished fourth in the WNBA in rebounds per game on the season and started 28 of 31 games in 2023 … set a franchise record for most double-doubles in a season, behind only Tamika Catchings (98) and Teaira McCowan (28) … reached 500 career rebounds in 59 regular season games, the fastest in Fever history and the eighth fastest in WNBA history … pulled down 285 rebounds in 2023, the fifth most by a Fever player in a single regular … Smith was the individual champion of the 2023 Athletes Unlimited season. 
2022 – Indiana Fever – Smith earned WNBA and AP All-Rookie Honors … started all 32 games played in during the 2022 campaign … averaged 13.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and shot 41.9 percent from the field … was one of seven players in the WNBA to average at least 13 points, 7.5 rebounds and one assist per game in 2022, joining Sylvia Fowles, Jonquel Jones, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas and A’ja Wilson … was the leading rebounder among rookies and sixth in the WNBA in rebounds per game … second among rookies in scoring average and averaged the second most minutes played among first-year players … earned an invitation to the WNBA Skills Challenge … invited to both the 2022 Women’s National Team Training Camp and the 2022 Women’s 3×3 AmeriCup team with USA Basketball. 
COLLEGE – Baylor, 2018-22 – totaled 2,048 points and 1,098 rebounds, making her the seventh player in Baylor history to reach at least 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds … tabbed All-Big 12 Player of the Year twice … made the All-Big 12 First Team her final three years … averaged 22.1 points,11.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks in 32.9 minutes per contest in 35 games, all of which she started during the 2021-22 season … received the Katrina McClain Award as the nation’s top power forward her last two seasons, becoming the second person in the award’s history to repeat, joining Ruthy Hebard … earned seven different All-America honors, including first-team selections by Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, Associated Press, USBWA, the John R. Wooden Award and the WBCA … earned a second-team nod from the Senior CLASS Award … recognized as a first-team All-America from the Associated Press, ESPN.com, WBCA and John R. Wooden entities following her junior season … earned second-team All-America honors from the USBWA. 
INTERNATIONAL – Selected to the 2019 USA Basketball Women’s U19 National Team but withdrew due to injury concerns … selected to the 2018 Women’s U18 National Team and helped the USA to a Gold Medal win against Canada … averaged 11.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest in six games at the FIBA World Championships. 
PERSONAL – Born on Aug. 8, 2000 … daughter of Rodney and Nikki Smith … brother, Rodney Smith, played collegiate soccer at St. Mary’s (Kansas) and the University of Houston at Victoria. 
HIGH SCHOOL – Named McDonald’s All-American in 2018 … 2018 Naismith Trophy National High School All-American first team selection … 2018 Jordan Brand Classic All-American … one of five players named to the 2018 SLAM Magazine All-American squad … 2018 Morgan Wootten Girls High School Player of the Year Award nominee … Semifinalist for 2018 Naismith Trophy Girls High School Player of the Year … one of 20 players named to the ALL-USA Preseason Girls Basketball Team leading up to her senior season … averaged 23.4 points, 13.7 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game as a senior at East Central High School … received second team All-America and Super Team honors after averaging 23.2 points, 17.5 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per contest as a junior … ranked No. 13 overall and No. 4 at her position by ESPN HoopGurlz … Five-star recruit…played with AAU club San Antonio’s Finest. 
CAREER TRANSACTIONS &#8211; Drafted No. 2 overall by the Indiana Fever during the 2022 WNBA Draft &#8230; acquired by the Dallas Wings via trade in Feb. 2025. 
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