Fever spoils Wilson’s MVP party, upset Aces 89-73 in Game 1 of WNBA Semifinals
After enduring a season full of injuries and hardship contracts, the Fever reached the WNBA Semifinals, defeating the No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces 89-73 in Sin City on Sept. 21.
Las Vegas Aces forward A’Ja Wilson received the 2025 Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, becoming the first player in league history to secure the honor four times. The award was presented to Wilson by league commissioner Cathy Engelbert, NBA center Bam Adebayo and Wilson’s father, Roscoe.
Mitchell, who came in fifth in 2025 MVP voting, may have, as they say, taken that personally. The all-star Fever guard dropped 34 points in 34 minutes. Additionally, Mitchell racked up three assists and two steals.
Fever head coach Stephanie White, who has been singing Mitchell’s praises the entire season, was no different following the win.
“Kelsey is a tough shot maker,” White said. “She has to work incredibly hard for every shot she gets. For her to be able to do what she does, at the efficiency at which she does it, is pretty incredible. She is the head of the snake for us.”
Indiana held the MVP to 16 points on a less-than-stellar 6-23 shooting. Aces forward and Indy native Jackie Young scored 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
“We didn’t have a pep to us,” Young said. “The pace they were playing at, the pep they had in their step, we didn’t have that today.”
Aces head coach Becky Hammon sounded off about her team’s subpar showing against the No. 6 seed Fever.
“They played with a greater sense of urgency. I know we are capable, but not when we play like that,” Hammon said. “Clearly, we had no answer for Mitchell. We couldn’t even attempt to slow her down. I thought (we played) really poor. We will have a talk about it.”
Fever point guard Odyssey Sims added 17 points, three assists and three steals.
Game 2 tips off at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 in Las Vegas. The Fever return to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4 on Sept. 26 and Sept. 28.
“It feels good to get this first win, but we are not done yet,” Sims said.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on Facebook @HorsemenSportsMedia. For more Indiana Fever news, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
