Aces Deal Fever A Loss In Front Of Full House At T-Mobile

The full house buzzed with excitement from start to end during the close game.  With crisp ball movement and relentless defense, the Aces reminded fans why they’re the team to beat in the WNBA. The Vegas crowd, filled with both Aces and Fever fans, brought playoff-level energy, turning the mid-day game into a full-on Sin City spectacle.

The excitement was not only seen and heard but also felt inside of T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday afternoon. The Aces, who typically play at Michelob ULTRA Arena inside of Mandalay Bay, moved their highly anticipated game against the Fever up the road to T-Mobile for extra seating.

Michelob ULTRA seats 12,000 and T-Mobile seats 18,000. Did we mention that the game SOLD OUT? It was a packed house with both Aces and Fever fans accounted for.

The game was close from start to finish, with the Aces taking the W, 89-81. Aces star player, A’ja Wilson, scored 24 points, and Fever’s star player, Caitlin Clark, scored 19 points. With this win, the Aces extend their streak to 5-0 against the Fever since last season. They’ll meet again twice in Indianapolis later this season.

Well before the game began, fans started lining up outside the arena, hoping to get the chance to see Clark entering the arena. When the bus pulled up, fans began sprinting toward it, holding jerseys, photos, and other things in the hopes of getting Clark’s signature. But then the bus turned around and drove the other way, so disappointed fans turned back around and got in line to enter the building.

Inside during warmups, it was a similar scene. Fans lined up along the lower section behind the bench holding various items for Clark to sign. After warmups, Clark went over to the crowd and happily greeted fans, signing autographs as fast as she could to get through the crowd of people.

During the game, there was no lack of applause for Clark, as many fans were visiting Las Vegas just for the game.

During a pregame conference, Clark greeted the media and took questions. When someone asked about a comparison to how Clark plays to how Wilson plays, Clark said, “I would say we’re quite different players, so that’s tough.”

“I mean, I think she just plays with an energy and tenacity about her that really affects her team and that’s probably as a competitor what I appreciate the most,” Clark said about Wilson. “When she’s on the floor, it’s completely different. She affects the games in so many ways, offensively and defensively, and I think that’s what’s incredible about the way she plays. It’s the energy, she plays fast, she can dribble, she can shoot, she can attack the glass, there’s so many different ways that she continues to affect the game. I think that and just the competitive spirit she brings for her team.”

Clark also talked about Sunday night’s NBA Finals game 7 against the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. She’s hoping to get to watch it.

“I think we’re gonna be in the air. We fly Delta and sometimes they have the screens on the back, but sometimes they don’t,” she said. “I’m hoping for the ones with the screens on the back of the chairs so I don’t have to pay for the WiFi. I’m a little cheap. I’m super excited. I feel good about it. I thought they were tremendous in game 6 and now it’s a winners take all kind of game. No matter which way it goes tonight, the type of season they’ve had has been absolutely incredible and you have to appreciate that. Super fortunate that I get to be in Indianapolis at this time and we’re gonna be cheering for them really hard.”

During the postgame press conference, Wilson talked about what it took to shift from a rough start to the game to winning.

“My teammates. That’s really the simple answer,” Wilson said about overcoming the start. “They continue to trust me; they continue to lean on me. I’m not gonna be perfect. Nobody’s gonna be perfect. I’m not gonna always be whatever people want me to be.”

Chelsea Gray, who finished the game with 18 points, was also in the postgame conference and shared her thoughts on playing to a sold-out crowd at T-Mobile.

“I think we were on the bench, it was me, Jackie, and A’ja, we looked around and was like wow, this is dope,” she said. “Shout out to our marketing team and people that thought of the idea to have everybody have their towels and here at T-Mobile and everybody coming out.”

The Aces will face the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday, June 25 at 7 p.m. at home. Then on Thursday, June 26, another home game against the Washington Mystics.

After that, they are off to Phoenix to play against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday, June 29 at 3 p.m.