The WNBA semifinals tipped off with a bang as the Indiana Fever, battered by injuries and widely counted out, stunned the Las Vegas Aces 89-73 in Game 1 at Michelob ULTRA Arena on September 21, 2025. Few could have predicted such a dominant performance from the sixth-seeded Fever, especially against a powerhouse Aces squad led by newly crowned four-time MVP A'ja Wilson. But on a day filled with drama, Kelsey Mitchell stole the spotlight, delivering a record-setting 34-point explosion that left fans and players alike buzzing.
Heading into the semifinals, the Fever faced daunting odds. Indiana’s roster had been decimated by five season-ending injuries, including to superstar Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald, and Chloe Bibby. Many observers wrote off their playoff hopes, but this group had other ideas. Team unity, grit, and a refusal to quit have become the Fever’s calling card this postseason. As Sophie Cunningham put it earlier in the week, the Fever "weren't supposed to get to this point, literally." Yet here they are, making their first semifinals appearance since 2015.
Mitchell’s Game 1 performance was nothing short of spectacular. She paced all scorers with 34 points on an efficient 12-for-23 shooting, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. According to league records, Mitchell’s outburst set a new WNBA semifinals debut scoring mark. Her ability to take over games has been a theme all season—she averaged 20.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game during the regular season, and has elevated her play even further in the postseason. In the first-round series against Atlanta, she put up 23.3 points per contest, shooting a blistering 46.8% from the field and 44.4% from deep. The Fever’s upset of the Aces was a team effort, but Mitchell’s star shone brightest.
On the other side, A'ja Wilson entered Game 1 fresh off being named the league’s first-ever four-time MVP, a historic achievement announced just hours before tip-off. Wilson has been nothing short of dominant all year, averaging nearly 50% shooting in both the regular season and playoffs. But Sunday was not her night. The Fever’s defensive strategy, as described by forward Brianna Turner, was simple but effective: "She’s an MVP. She’s like the best player in the world at the moment, so we just tried to make all her buckets tough. We weren’t going to stop her completely, but we wanted to make sure that every shot had a hand in her face or she was feeling contact. Just trying to make every bucket as hard as possible, not give her any easy ones."
The plan worked. Wilson missed her first six shots and finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks on just 6-of-22 shooting—her most missed shots in a playoff game. While those numbers would be solid for most, for Wilson they marked an uncharacteristic off night. Aces coach Becky Hammon was quick to back her star, saying, “Even the greatest players have off nights where they miss. I’ll say this — she doesn’t normally lay two stinkers in a row.” Hammon’s confidence in Wilson’s ability to bounce back is well-founded; history shows that Wilson rarely has consecutive poor shooting performances.
Wilson herself acknowledged the emotional whirlwind of the day, citing the pregame MVP trophy presentations and media obligations as a disruption to the team’s usual routine. “I’m not going to make that an excuse,” she said. “I just missed shots. And emotion plays a part of it.” She added that the Aces’ defensive game plan wasn’t executed as intended, allowing Mitchell and the Fever to capitalize. “We just weren’t ourselves. I don’t think it’s anything that (the Fever) did. They did their job. Came in and snatched Game 1.”
Indiana’s win was even more impressive considering their depleted lineup. With Caitlin Clark and other key contributors sidelined, the Fever have leaned heavily on their healthy core. Mitchell’s leadership and scoring have been central, but the supporting cast has stepped up as well. In their regular-season series against the Aces, which Indiana won 2-1, the Fever demonstrated their ability to win without Clark—thanks in large part to efficient free-throw shooting and timely three-point barrages. That formula held true in Game 1, as the Fever out-executed Las Vegas on both ends of the floor.
For the Aces, the loss snapped a wave of momentum. Las Vegas had closed the regular season with a 16-game winning streak and seemed poised for another deep playoff run. Wilson had dominated the Fever in previous matchups, averaging 24.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in their three regular-season meetings. But in Game 1, the supporting cast struggled to shoulder the load. The Aces managed just 12 assists against 12 turnovers, and no one aside from Wilson and Dana Evans (14 points off the bench) could find an offensive rhythm. As Evans put it, “She’s getting double teamed, triple teamed. We have to take some pressure off of her. Everything can’t be (isolation) for her. We’ve got to get her some catch and shoot, pick and pops, just kind of get her going.”
Looking ahead, the series is far from over. The WNBA semifinals use a best-of-five format with a 2-2-1 home game setup. Game 2 is set for Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at Michelob ULTRA Arena, with tip-off scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. CT). The Aces will look to regroup and even the series before it shifts to Indiana for Game 3 on September 26. Should the series require it, Games 4 and 5 are scheduled for September 28 and September 30, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx hold a 1-0 lead over the fourth-seeded Phoenix Mercury after their own come-from-behind 82-69 win. The Lynx and Mercury will continue their battle as the race to the Finals heats up.
One more twist: this year’s WNBA Finals, set to begin October 3, will expand to a best-of-seven series for the first time in league history. The higher seed will host Games 1, 2, 5, and 7, adding an extra layer of intrigue to what’s already shaping up as a memorable postseason.
For now, the spotlight remains squarely on Indiana’s resilience and Mitchell’s heroics. The Aces, with Wilson at the helm, will be desperate to bounce back and remind everyone why they’ve been the class of the league. But if Game 1 taught us anything, it’s that in the WNBA playoffs, nothing is guaranteed—and the Fever aren’t done making noise just yet.
