LAS VEGAS —The Phoenix Mercury are in a familiar territory after losing Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals to the Las Vegas Aces. They look to become the first team in WNBA history to win a WNBA Championship after losing Game 1s of the previous series.
Throughout Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals, it was a close one between the Mercury and Aces, as there were 12 lead changes and nine ties. Las Vegas ended up winning the first game of the best-of-seven series over Phoenix, 89-86, after forward Satou Sabally missed a three-pointer that could’ve forced overtime.
Guard Dana Evans became the first guard in WNBA history to record at least five made three-pointers and four steals, as the Aces outscored the Mercury in bench points, 41-16. For Phoenix, guard Kahleah Copper tied franchise legend Diana Taurasi’s record for most made three-pointers in a single half with five in the first half.
Keep an eye on what’s happening throughout Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the Mercury and Aces, all at Michelob Ultra Arena, right here on Ballislife.
FINAL: Aces 91, Mercury 78
(Las Vegas leads series 2-0 in Best-of-7 Series)
Final Leaders
MERCURY (78)
Points: Kahleah Copper (23), Satou Sabally (22)
Assists: Alyssa Thomas (5)
Rebounds: Satou Sabally (9), Natasha Mack (8)
ACES (91)
Points: Jackie Young (32), A’ja Wilson (28)
Assists: Chelsea Gray (10)
Rebounds: A’ja Wilson (14)
____________________________________________________________________________
4th Quarter: Aces 90, Mercury 78
1:40— Nate Tibbetts’ challenge was unsuccessful as NaLyssa Smith makes one of two free throws (91-78 LV)
2:47— Kiana Williams makes a layup to cut the Aces’ lead to 12 (90-78 LV)
3:53— Nate Tibbetts puts in his reserves as all the starters except for Natasha Mack check out of the game. (90-76 LV)
3:57— Satou Sabally went down after colliding with A’ja Wilson and is back in the game after readjusting her right ankle. She scored 18 points in the second half. Officials rule Wilson’s foul as a common foul. (90-74 LV)
4:53— Kahleah Copper scores another layup and has 23 points for Phoenix (90-73 LV)
5:45— Jackie Young scores her 32nd point of the day and Chelsea Gray has a double-double after dishing out her 10th assist (90-71 LV)
6:25— Satou Sabally makes her second three-pointer and has 21 points in Game 2 (86-71 LV)
7:16— Dana Evans drills a three-pointer to extend the Aces’ lead to 18 (86-68 LV).
7:38— Alyssa Thomas went down hardly and is on the bench with a towel. Jackie Young picks up an offensive foul. Thomas is staying in the game. (83-67 LV)
7:52— Satou Sabally scores the last six points for Phoenix and makes the Mercury’s first three-pointer since at the 2:51 mark in the first quarter (83-67 LV)
8:44— A’ja Wilson’s back-to-back layups gets the Aces up by 22. She has been unstoppable this afternoon with a double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds (83-61 LV)
9:43— Dana Evans dishes it out to Jewell Loyd, who makes a three-pointer (79-61 LV)
____________________________________________________________________________
3rd Quarter: Aces 76, Mercury 61
Note: Phoenix is shooting 16.7 percent (3-for-18) from the three-point line after going 3-for-4 at the opening quarter. The Mercury are outscored 24-30 in the third quarter
0.9— Jackie Young scores 21 points, a new WNBA Finals record, in the third quarter after making both free throws.
5.4— Satou Sabally’s layup cuts the Aces’ lead to 13 at the end of the third quarter
0:51— Jackie Young drills another pullup three-pointer and has 28 points throughout the afternoon (74-57 LV)
1:21— Jackie Young scored 15 points in the third quarter and has a total of 25 in the game (71-55 LV)
1:36— DeWanna Bonner makes both free throws to cut Aces’ lead to 14 points (69-55 LV)
1:58— A’ja Wilson lays it in to extends Las Vegas’ lead to 16 in the third quarter. Phoenix looks dejected on the other end. (69-53 LV)
2:32— Kahleah Copper scores a layup and draws the foul. She has scored six points in the third quarter (65-53 LV)
4:00— Jackie Young takes over for the Aces in the third quarter and has scored 12 points (64-51 LV)
4:52— Kahleah Copper’s free throws cuts Las Vegas’ deficit to 10 (59-49 LV)
6:17— Satou Sabally’s layup cuts the Aces’ lead to eight, forcing Becky Hammon to take a timeout (55-47 LV)
7:19— Alyssa Thomas picks up her fourth personal foul after A’ja Wilson makes a bucket and picks up where she left off in the first half (53-41 LV)
8:10— Jackie Young’s three-pointer extends Aces’ lead to 12 (51-39 LV)
9:26— Kierstan Bell’s jumper gets Las Vegas up by double digits. (48-37 LV)
____________________________________________________________________________
Halftime Leaders
MERCURY (37)
Points: Kahleah Copper (15), Alyssa Thomas (8)
Assists: Monique Akoa Makani (2)
Rebounds: Alyssa Thomas (6)
ACES (46)
Points: A’ja Wilson (20), Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray (9 points a piece)
Assists: Chelsea Gray (7), Dana Evans (3)
Rebounds: A’ja Wilson (8)
Las Vegas has been ultra-active on the defensive end with blocks by Chelsea Gray (3) and Jewell Loyd (2) and limited Alyssa Thomas’ passing to just one assist (and has three turnovers).
Wilson joins Angel McCoughtry (24 in 2011) and Copper (20 in 2021) as only players to score 20 or more points in a single half in the WNBA Finals.
Mercury’s 10 points in the second quarter is the fewest they have scored in a second quarter all season, counting the regular season and playoffs.
____________________________________________________________________________
2nd Quarter: Aces 44, Mercury 37
1:25—Jackie Young’s two made free throws extends Las Vegas’ lead up to nine (46-37 LV)
2:27— A’ja Wilson scores her 20th point (13 points in the second quarter) for Las Vegas, the most in any half of her Finals career (44-37 LV)
3:10— Thomas picks up her third personal foul and checks out the game for Phoenix. She has 8 points, 5 rebounds, and an assist (40-35 LV)
3:52— Alyssa Thomas steal and a bucket ends Aces’ run (38-35 LV)
4:19— A’ja Wilson (16 points) and Chelsea Gray (9 points) has been unstoppable for the Aces, who take the largest lead of the game. Nate Tibbetts takes a timeout for the Mercury, who are being outscored 14-6 in the second quarter (38-33 LV)
5:34— Chelsea Gray’s bucket hands Las Vegas the lead and are on a 7-0 run (34-33 LV)
6:41— A’ja Wilson completes the three-point play for the Aces and is in double figures. Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas picks up her second foul (33-30 PHX)
6:54— Kahleah Copper scored her 13th point with a pullup jumper for Phoenix (33-27 PHX)
7:31— Jewell Loyd’s three-pointer ends Las Vegas’ scoring drought that lasted for more than five minutes (31-27 PHX)
8:02— Alyssa Thomas’ layup extends Phoenix’s lead to seven and the Mercury are on a 10-0 run (31-24 PHX)
9:22— Monique Akoa Makani’s layup extends Phoenix’s lead to five (29-24 PHX)
____________________________________________________________________________
1st Quarter: Mercury 27, Aces 24
35.0— DeWanna Bonner scores a layup off a steal by Monique Akoa Makani to extend the Mercury’s lead to three by the end of the first quarter
44.6— Satou Sabally draws a foul on Dana Evans, and makes both free throws to give Phoenix back the lead (25-24 PHX)
1:51— A’ja Wilson takes her first trip to the free-throw line after drawing the foul, and makes one of two free throws for the Aces (22-21 LV)
2:40— Kahleah Copper makes a three-pointer for Phoenix, so does Jewell Loyd with a response for Las Vegas (21-21 TIED)
3:20— Las Vegas takes the lead after going on a 10-0 run over the last 2:35 of the first quarter. A’ja Wilson has scored six of the 10 Aces’ points (18-16 LV).
5:02— A’ja Wilson scores the last four points for the Aces to cut the Mercury’s deficit to four (16-12 PHX)
5:53— All five starters for the Mercury have scored after Alyssa Thomas scores a bucket (16-8)
6:35— Chelsea Gray drills a three-pointer and has five points for Las Vegas (12-8 PHX)
6:57— Copper makes her second three-pointer of the game for Phoenix (12-5 PHX)
7:24— Jackie Young makes her first three-pointer for Las Vegas (9-5 PHX)
7:53— Chelsea Gray gets Las Vegas on board with a pullup jump shot (7-2 PHX)
8:16— Natasha Mack’s offensive rebound and layup gets Phoenix up 7-0. (7-0 PHX)
8:41— Satou Sabally’s jumper gets the Mercury off to a 5-0 start (5-0 PHX)
9:03— Alyssa Thomas dishes it out to Kahleah Copper, who makes a three-pointer to get the Mercury on board (3-0 PHX)
10:00—NaLyssa Smith wins the tip from Natasha Mack, and Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Finals are underway
____________________________________________________________________________
Pregame
What: Phoenix Mercury @ Las Vegas Aces, WNBA Finals, Game 2
Where: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, NV
Watch: 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Who’s Favored: LVA -2.5
Starting Lineups
MERCURY: Monique Akoa Makani, Kahleah Copper, Natasha Mack, Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas
ACES: Kiersten Bell, Chelsea Gray, NaLyssa Smith, A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young
Referees: Maj Forsberg, Kevin Fahy, Angelica Suffren