WNBA playoffs: Indiana Fever stun Las Vegas Aces behind Kelsey Mitchell's 34 points in Game 1 of semifinals

The Indiana Fever continued its impressive postseason run with an 89-73 win against the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals. Indiana has dealt with several injuries to key players this season, but they are now two wins away from reaching the Finals for the first time since 2015. 

Aces star A'ja Wilson received her fourth MVP honor earlier on Sunday, but the Fever played her without fear. Aliyah Boston was particularly effective at guarding her, saying at halftime that her plan was simply to be "annoying."

Wilson missed her first six field goal attempts of the day and she never quite found her rhythm despite finishing with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Late in the third period she already had her fourth foul, and she had an inefficient day by shooting 6 of 22 from the field.

Instead, Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, who finished in fifth place in MVP voting, was the best player on the court Sunday afternoon.

Mitchell scored 28 points in the first three quarters, eventually finishing the day with 34 points, which was the second-most points by a player in Fever playoffs history. This was the first time that a Fever player scored more than 30 points in a playoff game since the 2012 WNBA Finals.

"She made every single freaking shot it felt like," Aces head coach Becky Hammon said after the game when asked about Mitchell. "She had a hot night and we let her get going."

The Fever drafted Mitchell second overall in the 2018 draft, and she has played all eight seasons in Indianapolis. She averaged 20.2 points and 3.4 assists in 2025, making it the best season of her career. 

"Kelsey is just a tough shot maker. She is always in constant motion. She's fast... probably the fastest player in the league with the ball in her hands. And she has to work incredibly hard for every shot that she gets. So for her to be able to do what she does, at the efficiency of how she does it, it's pretty incredible," Fever head coach Stephanie White told reporters.

"There have been multiple times this season when she's put us on her back and she's carried us."

 Odyssey Sims and Natasha Howard also put up double figures for Indiana with 17 and 12 points, respectively.

The Fever have certainly exceeded expectations and it looks like they are not done yet. Indiana reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016 last year while Caitlin Clark had a history rookie year. However, Clark only appeared in 13 games this year due to injury. The Fever are also having to do without Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald and Chloe Bibby for the rest of 2025.

Meanwhile, the Aces were riding a 17-game winning streak before losing Game 2 of the first round against the Seattle Storm. Las Vegas is chasing its third title in four years, but they will have to turn up the intensity if they want to bounce back against a persistent Indiana team.

Game 2 of the semifinals is set for Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET.