Las Vegas Aces Win First WNBA Title, Chelsea Gray Named MVP
Sep 18, 2022, 4:41 PM | Updated: Oct 11, 2022, 10:15 am
Chelsea Gray #12 of the Las Vegas Aces dribbles in the first half against the Connecticut Sun during game four of the 2022 WNBA Finals at Mohegan Sun Arena on September 18, 2022 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Chelsea Gray scored 20 points to lead the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title in a 78-71 road win over the Connecticut Sun in Game 4 on Sunday.
Gray went 9 of 13 from the floor, and was named MVP after averaging 18 points over the run. The Aces improved to 4-0 in this year’s playoffs with two days rest.
Riquana Williams added 17 points Kelsey Plum added 16 points for the Aces, Jackie Young had 13 and league MVP A’ja Wilson added 11 points to go with 14 rebounds.
BREAKING: The @LVAces are @WNBA champions 🏆 🏀 #RaiseTheStakes #WNBA #WNBAFinals
📷: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/nkT743T3YP— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 18, 2022
As the buzzer sounded Wilson grabbed the ball and stomped the floor before being mobbed by her teammates.
We champs! We champs! We champs!” Wilson screamed at teammates as they pulled on their championship hats and T-shirts before the trophy ceremony.
It’s the first major pro sports title for a team from Las Vegas, and Wilson surely hopes this is just the beginning.
“You see it. You see it,” Wilson said in the on-court celebration. “This is what we’re building. This is what we’re doing. This is it. I’m so happy right now.”
Courtney Williams had 17 points to lead Connecticut and Alyssa Thomas had her second straight triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Jonquel Jones added 13 points and DeWanna Bonner had 12.
The Las Vegas Aces are the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 𝗪𝗡𝗕𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 🏆#RaiseTheStakes pic.twitter.com/KaV2cijHYf
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 18, 2022
Las Vegas led by two points at the half and four points after three quarters.
It was a six-point lead in the fourth when Kelsey Plum was called for a flagrant foul after running into Bonner while the Sun guard was attempting a 3-pointer and sending her to the floor holding her right ankle. Bonner hit all three free throws before Jonquel Jones short jumper cut the lead to a point. The Sun then tied the game at 67 on free throw by Courtney Williams and took a 71-70 lead on two fouls shots from Brionna Jones.
But Las Vegas had the answers.
Riquana Williams 3-pointer put the Aces back on top and Chelsea Gray’s step-back jumper extended the lead back to 75-71 with under a minute left A’Ja Wilson then stole a pass and Plum hit a short jump shot to secure the win.
𝗧𝗛𝗔 #𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗚𝗔𝗪𝗗𝗗𝗗𝗗𝗗 👑@cgray209 is the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 @WNBA 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗦 𝗠𝗩𝗣!#RaiseTheStakes // #WNBAChampions pic.twitter.com/2weNJGRaTS
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 18, 2022
Bonner opened the scoring with a leaner from the left wing. But Kelsey Plum’s 3-pointer from the left baseline sparked an early 12-0 run for Vegas that shot them out to a 16-6 lead. The Aces, who gave up 34 points to the Sun in in first quarter of Game 3, led 16-12 after 10 minutes on Sunday.
“We were resilient and we held each other accountable,” said Wilson, who played every minute of the game.
