A’ja Wilson Drops 36 as the Aces Send Caitlin Clark and the Fever Home Again

A’ja Wilson put up 36 points and 10 rebounds Thursday night as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 94-83 in Game 3, knocking Caitlin Clark and company out of the first round, ClutchPoints reported. It’s the second straight year Vegas has ended Indiana’s season.

Wilson shot 11-of-18 from the field and 12-of-15 at the line. Chelsea Gray added 23 and Jackie Young had 18. Two days after teammates had to pull her away from a fan who pointed at her in Game 2, Wilson said she made a choice: “After a while I understood that I didn’t want that to be a distraction to myself and to my team.”

Clark, the No-Call and a One-Word Answer

Clark finished with 18 points on 18 shots. Late in the game she took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Jewell Loyd on a rebound with no whistle. Asked if it was a foul, she said, “Your guess would be as good as mine.” The Aces shot 15 more free throws, which Clark called “interesting.”

Then Becky Hammon was asked whether this Fever team reminds her of the Aces she took over in 2022. Her answer: “No.” Wilson laughed. Hammon added that Indiana has “great potential, but it’s different.”

The IAHHM Take

Carolina, stand up. Wilson is from Columbia, S.C., and a South Carolina Gamecocks legend, and she keeps showing up when the stakes are highest. Clark is still the WNBA’s biggest draw, but this series was a reminder of the gap between a team with stars and a team that already knows how to win when it counts.

Vegas is chasing a fourth title and opens the semifinals Oct. 4 against the Wings-Valkyries winner. Was Hammon’s “No” fair, or cold? Sound off. For more women’s hoops, see our piece on Olivia Miles.

Source: ClutchPoints, with additional reporting from ClutchPoints on Clark and Hammon