The 2025 WNBA Finals got off to a thrilling start on Friday night, as the Las Vegas Aces came back from a nine-point deficit, then held on for an 89-86 win over the Phoenix Mercury to take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.
Early on, it was all Mercury, as they jumped out to a quick lead and controlled the majority of the first half. Kahleah Copper scored 19 points tied a Finals record with five 3-pointers in the first half, and Alyssa Thomas was wreaking havoc in the paint with her scoring and playmaking.
The Mercury threatened to pull away at various points, including late in the third quarter when they built a nine-point lead, but the Aces refused to go away. The home team kept plugging along, thanks in large part to Dana Evans (21 points) and Jewell Loyd (18 points), who provided a major boost off the bench.
After shooting the ball extremely well through the first three quarters, the Mercury went ice cold in the fourth -- 6 of 18 from the field, including 2 of 12 from 3-point range -- and the Aces' steadiness allowed them to take the lead. They went ahead for good on a 3-pointer by Evans with 3:40 remaining, and built a five-point lead with 2:41 remaining.
The Mercury have been the comeback queens in the postseason, and tried to pull off another one on Friday, but ultimately came up short. Alyssa Thomas scored with less than a minute to play to cut the deficit to one, then stole the ball from A'ja Wilson and drew a foul. She went to the line with the chance to take the lead with less than 30 seconds left, but missed both free throws.
After Jackie Young hit two free throws of her own to push the Aces' advantage back up to three, the Mercury still had time to tie the game, or extend it with a quick two. Instead, they had a disastrous final possession, which ended with a prayer from Satou Sabally that didn't come close.
Wilson finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Chelsea Gray added eight points, seven rebounds and 10 assists. The two difference-makers for the Aces were Evans and Loyd, who combined for 39 points and outscored the Mercury's bench by themselves.
Copper did not make a 3 in the second half and finished with 21 points, while Thomas just missed a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Thomas also appeared to injure her left hand late in the fourth quarter, but Mercury coach Nate Tibbets did not have an update.
Game 2 is set for Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas.
Evans steps up with biggest performance of her career
Entering Friday night, Dana Evans had played in 207 WNBA games -- regular season and playoffs combined -- since being drafted No. 13 overall in 2021. She had scored 20 points in six of them.
Now, you can make that 208 games and seven 20-point performances.
Evans was incredible in Game 1 of the Finals, delivering the Aces a major boost off the bench in the finest performance of her career. She finished with 21 points, two rebounds, three assists and four steals on 8 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
"Dana is a little scorer. I mean, she is a problem," Aces coach Becky Hammon said.
Evans became the first player in Finals history to have at least five 3-pointers and four steals in a game, and the 10th player in Finals history with at least 20 points and five 3s. She also outscored the Mercury's bench by herself (21-16), and played a leading role in the Aces' 41-16 edge in bench points.
Three of Evans' 3s and nine of her points came in the fourth quarter to help the Aces complete a nine-point comeback. She hit back-to-back triples early in the frame to briefly put the Aces back in front, then drained another one with 3:40 remaining to give them the lead for good.
"We have something I took from the [San Antonio] Spurs, it's called the Spurs 100, and Dana scored higher than I've ever seen anybody score in a very tough shooting drill," Hammon, who was an assistant coach for the Spurs from 2014-2021, told reporters after the game. "I don't know her exact score, but I know it was over 90, which is bonkers. It was ridiculous. I never heard of a score like that."
Evans got off to a rough start from behind the arc this summer, but caught fire down the stretch as the Aces closed the regular season on a 16-game winning streak. She's continued to shoot the ball extremely well in the playoffs, and is now 11 of 22 (50%) from 3-point range.
"I'm going to be honest, I don't remember," Evans said, when asked what was going through her mind after hitting her clutch 3s in the fourth quarter. "I'm just in a zone in the game. I don't remember exactly, I just want to win really bad. Whatever that looks like, whatever my teammates need from me, I'm going to do whatever it is to win."
While Evans' primary role is to be a spark plug off the bench, she's also a fiesty defender. At times she can get picked on because of her small stature, but she is always willing to fight. Her tenacity was on full display Friday when she swiped four steals and helped the Aces turn 14 Mercury turnovers into 20 points.
Notably, Evans blew up the Mercury's pet play -- an inverted pick-and-roll with Alyssa Thomas as the ball-handler -- multiple time by using her quickness to jump at the ball. On one, she forced a jump ball, and on another occassion late in the fourth quarter she earned a steal.
"We had a little talk at halftime about the AT pick-and-roll was hurting us in the first half," Hammon said. "So we looked at some clips at halftime, made the appropriate adjustments and started doing it better."
Are the Aces going to get 21 points again from Evans in this series? No, probably not, but she's now scored in double figures in five of nine games in the postseason and her plus-14.4 net rating differential is second only to Jewell Loyd. Her energy and the pressure she puts on the defense on both ends of the floor is vital to the Aces' success.
"I've said multiple times that Dana is our battery," Wilson said. "She makes us play at a difference pace. I tell her we go, she goes. That's a quick pace but we are always going to try follow her because we know she's very hard to stop in this league, very hard to keep in front of. When she's able to get downhill and get good looks, it plays into our favor."
