The Aces' Title Defense Ended in an Overtime Sweep at Home

by Ryan Rose

What Happened

Game 3 started the way Aces fans hoped. After slow starts in the first two games, Las Vegas scored the first 5 points of the night, according to the team's official game recap. The Aces led 19-16 after the first quarter. Chelsea Gray then took over the second quarter. She scored 10 of the team's first 13 points in the period and went a perfect 4 of 4 from the floor before halftime. Las Vegas went into the break up 45-36.

The third quarter is where it slipped away. After A'ja Wilson made two free throws to open the half, the Aces missed their next 12 shots. They also turned the ball over three times. Golden State scored 17 straight points during that stretch and took its first lead of the night, 48-47, with 3:25 left in the quarter. ESPN reported that the run took about seven minutes. Las Vegas scored only 7 points in the whole third quarter and shot 2 of 16 from the field. Jackie Young finally broke the drought with 2:07 left, then hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 53-52.

The Aces fought back in the fourth. Wilson tied it at 53 from the free-throw line. A 12-4 Aces run made it 65-59, and Las Vegas was up 69-63 late. Then Golden State scored 8 straight points and led 71-69 with 1:12 to play. Out of a timeout called by head coach Becky Hammon with 32.8 seconds left, the Aces ran a sideline play that left Young wide open under the basket. Her layup tied the game at 71 with 26.6 seconds left. Gray had a pull-up shot to win it with 3.9 seconds left, but it bounced out.

Overtime belonged to Golden State. The Valkyries scored the first 4 points. A Gray jumper got the Aces within two, 75-73, with about two and a half minutes left. After that, Golden State scored 8 straight points, helped by two Aces turnovers, and led 83-73 with 46.9 seconds left. Per the Aces recap, Las Vegas made just 3 of 9 shots in overtime and never got to the free-throw line. Golden State made all 8 of its free throws in the extra period.

Wilson finished with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Young scored 18. Gray had 17 points and a game-high 5 assists. Kalani Brown, making her first start for the Aces, added 8 points and 8 rebounds. For Golden State, Kayla Thornton led the way with 18 points. Gabby Williams scored 16, and Tiffany Hayes and Kiah Stokes each scored 11. ESPN reported that Thornton, Williams and Hayes scored all of Golden State's overtime points.

The box score tells the rest. Golden State outrebounded Las Vegas 43-35, scored 13 second-chance points to the Aces' 4, and turned 15 Aces turnovers into 17 points. The Valkyries' bench outscored the Aces' bench 27-13.

How the Series Got Here

The sweep did not come out of nowhere. Golden State was the No. 2 seed and the Aces were No. 3, so the first two games were played on the Valkyries' home floor. Golden State won Game 1, 71-60, on Sunday, Oct. 4. The Aces' own recap of that game put the blame on poor rebounding.

Game 2, on Wednesday, Oct. 7 in San Francisco, was a heartbreaker of its own. The Associated Press reported that the Aces fell behind by as many as 16 points late in the third quarter, then rallied to take a 76-74 lead. Veronica Burton answered with a go-ahead 3-pointer with about 41 seconds left. Stokes then blocked a Gray layup with 1.3 seconds left to seal an 83-81 Golden State win. Wilson scored 24 that night. "That Burton 3 was massive," Hammon said after the game, according to the AP.

That left the Aces needing three straight wins, starting at home. They came close in Game 3. In the end, two of the three games were decided late, and the third went to overtime.

Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces, wearing a white road jersey, brings the ball up the court against Golden State during Game 1 of the 2026 WNBA semifinals

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Most of the big-name sports in Las Vegas are built for both locals and visitors. The Aces feel a little different. They play a summer schedule, when tourists are fewer and locals are looking for something to do indoors. Youth camps, clinics and community events make them part of everyday life in the valley. When the season ends early, it is the families and regular fans who feel it.

There is also a pride factor. Las Vegas did not have a major league team for most of its history. Now the valley has the Vegas Golden Knights, the Raiders, and the Aces, with the Athletics on the way. The Aces are the team that has actually won the most. The WNBA's own playoff preview noted that the Aces won their third title in four years last season. That kind of run gives a city something to talk about that is not the Strip.

There is a money side too, even if it is hard to measure. Home playoff games bring crowds to the arena area, the restaurants around it and the rideshare drivers who carry fans home. This year, the Aces got only one home game in the semifinals, so that boost was short. We could not find a published figure for how much a home playoff game is worth to the local economy, so we are not going to guess at one. [NOT VERIFIED: no official local economic impact figure for a single Aces playoff game was found.]

Finally, there is the simple fact that this was a home loss. Fans who bought tickets for Friday's game watched their team lead by double digits, fall behind, tie it in the final seconds, and lose in overtime. Ask anyone who was in the building and they will tell you that kind of night sticks with you.

Background and History

The Aces arrived in Las Vegas in 2018 and play their home games at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay. The team's practice facility is in Henderson. Since moving here, they have turned into one of the best teams in the league. A local News 3 LV report noted that this season's trip to the semifinals was the team's eighth straight, dating back to 2019.

This season started with high hopes. The Aces were the defending champions after winning the 2025 title. They finished the 2026 regular season 31-13, according to WNBA.com, and closed it with seven straight wins. That made them the No. 3 seed. Golden State finished 32-12 and took the No. 2 seed.

The first round was not easy. The Aces faced the No. 6 Indiana Fever. Las Vegas won Game 1 at home, 102-85, on Sept. 27. Indiana won Game 2, 99-89. In the deciding Game 3 on Oct. 1, back at Michelob ULTRA Arena, the Aces won 94-83. News 3 LV reported that Wilson scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in that game.

Wilson herself had a historic season. The Aces announced that she won her fifth Most Valuable Player award, and her third in a row. She was also named MVP in 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025. Per the team, she led the league in scoring at 26.2 points per game for the third straight season. Even in the final loss, she kept adding to her record book. During Game 3, she passed Diana Taurasi's record of 489 made field goals to become No. 1 on the all-time playoff list. She did it in 61 playoff games, compared to Taurasi's 73. Her 10 rebounds also moved her to No. 3 on the all-time playoff rebounding list, with 600.

The Aces said the team was fully healthy for Game 3, except for Janiah Barker and NaLyssa Smith, who were out for the season.

A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces reaches for a rebound under the basket during a 2026 regular season game

Who Beat Them

Golden State's run is one of the bigger stories in the league this year. The Valkyries joined the WNBA as an expansion team last season. ESPN reported that they built their first roster through an expansion draft and reached the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in year one. This season they were the No. 2 seed with the league's best defense. With this sweep, ESPN reported, they became the first expansion team to reach the WNBA Finals within their first two seasons.

Their path to Las Vegas was a comeback too. In the first round, they rallied from 16 points down to beat the Dallas Wings in a deciding Game 3. Free-agent signings Gabby Williams and Kiah Stokes were key pieces of the run. Stokes finished Game 3 against the Aces with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, per ESPN.

"To beat Vegas 3-0, it's crazy," Thornton told ESPN after the game.

What Happens Next

For Golden State, the next step is the WNBA Finals. ESPN reported that the Valkyries will face the Atlanta Dream in a best-of-seven series starting Oct. 17 in San Francisco. The rest of the Finals schedule was not listed in the ESPN story.

For the Aces, the offseason starts now. That usually means exit meetings, player decisions and roster planning for 2027. As of this writing, the team has not announced any roster moves tied to the end of the season, and we are not going to speculate about who stays or goes. [NOT VERIFIED: no Aces offseason announcements were found as of Oct. 11, 2026.] The league itself keeps growing. The Aces' website lists the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo among the current teams, with a Cleveland franchise coming later, which means more teams competing for the same players.

What fans can count on is that the core is still in place. Wilson, Young and Gray combined for 56 of the team's 77 points in Game 3. Wilson is 30 years old and coming off an MVP season. If you are an Aces fan, the 2027 schedule release is the next date to watch for. [NOT VERIFIED: the 2027 WNBA schedule release date has not been announced.]

A basketball drops through the net under arena lights, a reminder of the late shots that decided the Aces and Valkyries semifinal series

Ryan's Take

Sports teams are not the reason people buy a house in Las Vegas. Jobs, family, weather and cost are. But teams like the Aces are part of what makes this place feel like a real hometown and not just a tourist town. When people move here from out of state, one of the first things they often ask about is what locals do for fun. A winning WNBA team that plays in the summer, with affordable seats and family nights, is a good answer to that question.

Losing in the semifinals does not change that. The Aces have reached the semifinals eight seasons in a row and won three titles in four years. That is a track record most cities would love to have. The community side of the team, from youth camps to ticket donations, keeps going whether the season ends in September, October or with a parade. For people living in Henderson, Summerlin, Spring Valley and the rest of the valley, the Aces are still one of the easiest ways to feel connected to this city. And next summer, the seats will fill back up.

The Las Vegas Strip lit up at night, home to Michelob ULTRA Arena where the Aces play their home games

What You Can Do

If you want to keep following the playoffs, the WNBA Finals between Golden State and Atlanta begin Oct. 17. It is a chance to see the team that knocked out the Aces and to see how the league's newest contender handles the biggest stage.

If you are thinking about going to more Aces games next year, now is a good time to look. The team's website lists season memberships, a waitlist, single-game tickets, group packages and theme nights. It also lists youth camps and clinics, plus a program called All In LV that donates tickets in the community. Prices and dates for 2027 have not been posted yet, so check the official Aces site directly rather than relying on resale sites. [NOT VERIFIED: 2027 Aces ticket pricing and on-sale dates have not been announced.]

And if you are new to the valley, or thinking about moving here, put an Aces game on your list for next summer. It is one of the best ways to see Las Vegas the way locals do.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime.