Lexie Hull, Fever beat Aces to force decisive Game 5 in WNBA semifinals
The Indiana Fever’s Cinderella season continues.
The No. 6 seed Fever staved off elimination with a 90-83 win over the No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces in Game 4 in Indianapolis on Sunday, tying up the best-of-five semifinal series to set up a decisive Game 5 in Las Vegas on Tuesday (6:30 p.m., ESPN2).
Fever center Aliyah Boston scored 17 of her playoff career-high 24 points in the second half, in addition to 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Boston is the second player in Indiana playoff history to score 20-plus points, with 10 or more rebounds and five or more steals in a game, joining Tamika Catchings, who was sitting courtside at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday.
“God is good and every time he lets you come out here and play and come off the court without an injury, it’s seriously a blessing,” Boston said. “I’m going to do everything I can always to give everything to my squad.”
Boston added, “We earned ourselves another game.”
The Fever survived a 31-point performance from Aces center A’ja Wilson. The Aces were 11-0 in the postseason when Wilson scored 25 or more points entering Sunday’s matchup, but drop to 11-1 with the loss. Wilson finished with nine rebounds, four steals, three blocks and three assists in the losing effort.
The Fever had a five-point lead with 1:10 remaining in the contest. Kelsey Mitchell hit a pull-up floater with 1:00 remaining to put the Fever up 82-75. A’ja Wilson responded with a tough layup to cut the Aces’ deficit back to 82-77, but Wilson missed an and-1 free throw. Fever guard Lexie Hull (Central Valley High) got the rebound and was fouled, but missed both free throws with 46.2 remaining. Just under ten seconds later, Hull didn’t squander another opportunity and was fouled again, but hit both free throws to go up 84-77 with 36.6 remaining.
Hull finished with seven points, seven rebounds, four steals, one assist and one block, though she made just 2 of 12 attempts from the field. This postseason she is averaging 10 points and 4.7 rebounds a game.
Hammon called a timeout with 30.1 left, but the Aces didn’t have a timeout available, resulting in a technical foul on Las Vegas and loss of possession. Kelsey Mitchell knocked down the technical free throw to put the Fever up 85-77. Aces’ Chelsea Gray hit back-to-back triples in the waning seconds to come within five points with 6.1 remaining, but it was too little too late for the Aces.
Mercury roll past Lynx into Finals
The Phoenix Mercury are headed back to the WNBA Finals.
The No. 4 seed Mercury completed a double-digit comeback to defeat the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx 86-81 in Game 4 at PHX Arena, punching their ticket to the best-of-seven championship series for the first time since 2021.
The Lynx led by as many as 14 points and had a 13-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Mercury went on a 19-2 run to take a four-point lead with 2:44 remaining. Phoenix outscored Minnesota 31-13 in the fourth quarter in front of a sold-out home crowd of 16,919.
“We’re going to the the Finals, baby!” Mercury forward Dewanna Bonner shouted as her team gathered on the court to celebrate postgame.