The Indiana Fever continued their somewhat surprising postseason run by stunning the Las Vegas Aces, 89-73, in Game 1 of their semifinal series on Sunday.
“I think what you guys see is just me trying to just be a kid in the playground,’ Mitchell said.
In the second game of the day, the top-seed Minnesota Lynx took care of business. They defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 82-69, in Minneapolis at the Target Center. Courtney Williams has 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Lynx.
‘We never feel like we are down, we are resilient group,’ Williams said when asked about Minnesota being down 47-40 at halftime. ‘We never look up at the scoreboard. We just try and go get kills, which is stops.’
Winners
Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell
Mitchell may have finished fifth in the voting, but she looked like the MVP on the court in Game 1. Mitchell scored a career playoff best 34 points in the Fever’s victory over four-time MVP A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday. Mitchell shot an efficient 12-of-23 from the field including 4-of-6 from the 3-point line. Mitchell is the first Fever player to score 30 or more points in a playoff game since Shavonte Zellous in the 2012 WNBA Finals. Aces coach Becky Hammon summed it up perfectly: “Clearly we had no answer for (Kelsey) Mitchell. Couldn’t even attempt to slow her down a little bit.”
Fever guard Odyssey Sims
Sims started the 2025 WNBA season with the Los Angeles Sparks. After being waived on July 2, the point guard signed an emergency hardship contract with the Fever on Aug. 10. Sims seamlessly stepped in for Indiana’s injured guards and has been a key part of the Fever’s postseason run. She stepped on the gas (literally) in the Fever’s Game 1 blowout win and finished with 17 points (13 in the second half), three assists, three steals and only one turnover.
Lynx guard Courtney Williams
Williams was due for a breakout game and turned it in on Sunday. After averaging 8.8 points in the Lynx’s first-round series against the Golden State Valkyries, Williams exploded for a game-high 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals in Game 1 vs. Phoenix. Williams effortlessly controlled the game, creating her own shots, while simultaneously making the right passes. She becomes the fifth player in WNBA playoff history with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a playoff game, joining Breanna Stewart, Tamika Catchings, Sheryl Swoopes and Alyssa Thomas. ‘We needed aggression against these guys and Courtney (Williams) did it for us, even though she’s one of the smallest on the court,’ Lynx coach Cheryl Reeves said.
Courtney Williams’ dad
Donald Williams, the father of Lynx guard Courtney Williams, had plenty to cheer about in the Lynx’s Game 1 win. (See above.) He was seen cheering and dancing courtside at Target Center.
Lynx foward Maria Kliundikova
Maria Kliundikova added instant impact off the bench in the second half for the Lynx. Reeve opted to put in Kliundikova for Alanna Smith in the closing seconds of the third quarter and her presence was instantly felt. She got a clutch offensive rebound with 8:36 remaining in the game that led to a made 3-pointer from Kayla McBride to put the Lynx up 64-59. Kliundikova finished with four points, four rebounds, two steals, one assist and was plus-14 in eight minutes of work. ‘It was huge… we were all turnt for her because we know what she can do,’ Courtney Williams said. ‘She was a game changer for us. When you sit most of the game and have to come in and make that instant impact, you just have to be mentally strong and that’s what she is.’
Minnesota’s Big 3
Minnesota’s Big 3 of Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams won the first battle against Phoenix’s Big 3. McBride finished with 21 points (6-of-17, 4-of-9 3PT), six rebounds and two assists, while Collier scored 18 points (8-of-16 FG, 2-of-6 3PT), nine rebounds and two assists. Can’t forget about Williams, who Reeve called the ‘player of the game for us.’
Losers
Phoenix’s Big 3
The Mercury’s Big 3 started red hot in Game 1, with forward Alyssa Thomas (16 points), guard Kahleah Copper (11) and forward Satou Sabally (8) combining for 35 of the Phoenix’s 47 points in the first half. But the Mercury’s trio appeared to hit a wall during the second half. Copper scored 11 points in the second half to bring her to 22 points total, but Thomas and Sabally scored two points each in the second half, finishing with 18 and 10 points respectively. Fatigue could be a factor as the Mercury are coming off a Game 3 win over the New York Liberty in the first round less than 48 hours before the semis tipped off on Sunday. Entering Sunday, the Mercury were 15-0 this season when their Big 3 score 10-plus points each.
Aces center A’ja Wilson
Aces center A’ja Wilson was awarded her record-setting fourth MVP trophy ahead of Game 1 vs. the Fever on Sunday, but her special night was spoiled by a blowout loss to the Fever. Indiana forced Wilson into tough shots all night long and held her to 27.2% from the field (6-of-22) and 0-of-1 from the 3-point line. (In comparison, Wilson averaged 50.5% from the field this season.) She was held to just one field goal the entire second half (1-of-6) and was limited with four fouls trouble by the third quarter. To add insult to injury, the loss snapped the Aces’ 12-game home win streak. Wilson didn’t look like herself and will need to bounce back to get even with the Fever.
Aces guard Jewell Loyd
The Aces have the luxury of having a two-time WNBA champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, WNBA scoring leader and six-time WNBA All-Star coming off the bench, but Jewell Loyd was nearly nonexistent in Game 1 vs. the Fever. Loyd was held scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter when she knocked down a 3-point shot for her sole field goal of the game. Loyd finished with three points in 28 minutes, going 1-of-5 from the field and 1-of-4 from the 3-point line. Her stat sheet was rounded out by three steals, one rebound and one assist. Becky Hammon lamented her team’s depth afterward, adding, “God forbid A’ja (Wilson) doesn’t drop 40 for us.”
Phoenix’s 3-point shooting
The Mercury were held to 3-of-23 from the 3-point line in Sunday’s loss. Phoenix has a significant advantage when their 3-point shot is falling and was 12-1 this regular season when shooting 40% or better from the 3-point line. The Mercury, who recorded a league-leading four games with 15 or more 3-pointers, haven’t hit the 40% mark from 3 in all four of their playoff games so far.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.