On Sunday, September 11, The Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada was filled with bright, blue and red glow sticks given to fans who entered the arena for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. This matchup between the Las Vegas Aces (26-10) and the Connecticut Sun (25-11) has been highly anticipated. Home of the Las Vegas Aces, Michelob ULTRA was packed out, containing the highest number of attendees the arena had seen for a WNBA game at 10,135 people.
The energy in the room was electric, and the Aces undoubtedly used that momentum from this Game 1 home court advantage to breeze past the Sun early on, leading the Sun 21-9 early on in the first quarter.
The Aces’ A’ja Wilson, the WNBA’s 2022 MVP Award Recipient, wasted no time asserting her dominance in the game as she willfully attacked the basket, went for rebounds, and (frankly) got buckets with almost no regard for the Sun's defense, ending the first half with 12 points. Simply put, she was a force to be reckoned with.
Chelsea Gray, an Aces Guard who was named MVP in the 2022 WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship game, also made her presence known with 11 first half points and a boatload of energy.
The Sun’s Alyssa Thomas also had a dynamic first half, putting up 10 points and snagging 5 rebounds. Thomas, voted 2nd in Defensive Player of the Year voting, played aggressively the entire game—while also playing the most minutes for the Sun— and made her Aces assignment work for every point they scored. She ended the game with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Ultimately, the Aces pulled away from the Sun despite their last minute effort to make a comeback. A'ja Wilson ended the game with a double double (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Chelsea Gray with 22 points.
The Aces will meet the Sun in Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun Arena tonight for Game 2 of the Finals at 9pm ET.