SEATTLE (AP) — Sue Bird’s career came to an end Tuesday night as Chelsea Gray scored 15 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter and the Las Vegas Aces advanced to the WNBA Finals with a 97-92 win over the Seattle Storm in Game 4 of their semifinal series.
The Aces won the best-of-five series 3-1, all the games tense, pressure-packed and filled with spectacular shot-making. The Aces ended up making more, most notably Gray, who made five of six shots down the stretch and scored 12 of the final 20 points for the Aces.
It will be the third Finals appearance in franchise history for Las Vegas. The Aces lost to Seattle in 2020 in the WNBA bubble played in Florida, and the franchise reached the Finals in 2008 while still in San Antonio, losing to Detroit.
Breanna Stewart tied the WNBA playoff record with 42 points, just the fifth player to score 40 or more in a postseason game, and Jewell Loyd added 29. But Seattle failed to find a third scorer and the Aces had an answer for every charge Seattle made after Las Vegas surged in front early in the second half.
A’ja Wilson finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds for Las Vegas, which will host either Connecticut or Chicago in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday.
SUN 104, SKY 80
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — DeWanna Bonner and Courtney Williams each scored 19 points to help Connecticut rout Chicago and force a decisive Game 5 in their semifinal series.
Alyssa Thomas added 17 points for Connecticut, which will travel to the second-seeded Sky for the winner-take-all game on Thursday night.
It’s the second consecutive playoff series for each team that has gone the distance.
The Sun raced to a 22-6 lead, scoring 10 of the first 12 points. The Sky got back within eight by the end of the first quarter, but couldn’t get much closer as Connecticut had an answer for every Chicago run — thanks to Thomas, Bonner and Jonquel Jones.
Kahleah Copper scored 16 points and Emma Meesseman added 14 for the Sky.
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